Light Snow
Knowing she had overreacted, Gao Yun stopped sobbing and, still hiccuping, said, "I will never forget your kindness. I will definitely repay you when I have the chance."
Jingwan was really not used to her being so polite and courteous. Back in Pingdu, no one had ever made this young lady thank her so humbly!
Even Wuxia couldn't help but sigh. This subservient behavior was both pitiful and hateful, leaving her no chance to teach Gao Yun a lesson.
According to Gao Yun, she had been living in the charitable institution since she arrived in Lingnan. During this period, more and more people from the Central Plains fled to Lingnan. Many people were temporarily unable to make a living. In order to prevent chaos, the officials of Chaozhou set up charitable institutions in the city to take in some homeless people. Although they were simple, they provided food and lodging. If they found a way to make a living, they could leave on their own.
Jingwan had been to the charitable institution, where all sorts of people, young and old, lived. It would be inconvenient for a young woman like her to stay there.
After thinking it over, Fangjuan gave Gao Yun some silver so she could find an inn to stay in.
"The carriage to Shiyu City tomorrow will stop at the inn; you can go with it. As for Gao Qian, I can't guarantee anything, but I'll still ask my cousin for help. I'll let you know if there's any news."
She had never spoken to Gao Yun before, but now that she knew about Bo Jun's difficulties, she was worried and just wanted to ask her cousin about it once she got to Ningzhou.
Gao Yun nodded, her guilt deepening as she recalled what she had done to Jing Wan in the past. She lowered her head and muttered, "You are all good people. If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago. I was blind before, and I caused you so much suffering..."
She started crying again, but this time the sound wasn't as loud as before. Jingwan never knew that Gao Yun could cry so much.
"Do you remember what happened at the Prince's Villa in Runan? You accidentally fell into the water, actually... actually..." With a loud cry, tears streamed down her face like a spring, as if she were the one who had fallen into the water!
"I knew you could swim, that's why I dared to kick you, but I never expected you to drown! I regretted it as soon as you fell in... Waaah... I was so angry... that's why I couldn't help but have that bad idea..."
Gao Yun didn't dare tell Jing Wan the truth, fearing that if she found out the truth about her falling into the water, she would angrily take back all the benefits she had given her. But looking at Jing Wan's kind face, she still wanted to tell her the truth, at least it would make her feel better.
Jingwan had a deep impression of it. She didn't drown; someone deliberately tried to kill her. During that time, she felt someone pulling her feet in her sleep. She would wake up in a cold sweat, holding her breath.
After hearing Gao Yun's story today, Jing Wan felt even more puzzled. It didn't seem like she was arranging for someone to harm her in the water!
Wuxia had rescued Jingwan at the time, and originally thought it was an accident. But today she learned that Gao Yun had deliberately tripped her. She immediately became angry and asked, "My young lady was sitting perfectly fine on the boat. What did she do to offend you that you would do this to her?"
Gao Yun looked annoyed. Wu Xia's words struck a nerve, and in front of everyone, she smacked herself on the head: "I'm so stupid! Gao Shijun only said a couple of things to provoke me, and I got really angry." She looked at Jing Wan, pouting, "She said Father favors you, and I felt bad, so I did something bad... Jing Wan, why don't you throw me in the water too? I won't dare to stick my head out of the water without your permission..."
Just thinking about how Gao Yun, like a well-behaved puppy, would always keep her head submerged in the water without her owner's permission, made Jingwan chuckle. She glanced at Wuxia and saw that she had turned her back to them again, not looking at them. But the way Wuxia's fingers twitched behind her back made Jingwan guess that Wuxia was also laughing.
"No need for that." Jingwan took a sip of tea and asked, "Where's Gao Shijun? Did she also go to the Northwest?"
Gao Yun nodded: "She married Qin Gang. Qin Gang's younger brother is the son-in-law of the Prince of Runan. The Gao family is now closely tied to the Prince of Runan."
She felt she was just chatting casually, and not someone with political sensitivity, so she told Jingwan everything, "Qin Gang's younger brother... his name is Qin Ziyou, he's really something..." She lowered her voice and leaned forward, wanting to tell Jingwan some gossip she had heard: "I heard from Shijun that the eldest princess, ah, is..."
With a "clatter," Wuxia's hand accidentally knocked over a teacup, shattering it. A waiter serving other guests nearby quickly came over to clean it up.
“Girl, we’ve been out for too long, we should go,” Wuxia said, then looked at Gao Yun and added, “You should go back and take a bath and rest properly.”
Gao Yun was easily led astray. She sniffed her clothes and, sure enough, they smelled bad. She wrinkled her nose, disgusted even by herself.
Jingwan looked at Wuxia, remained silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "Then... you rest first, I'm leaving."
She walked ahead, her expression still calm. She didn't bother to glance around, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she found nothing amiss.
Jingwan originally wanted to pick the freshest early oranges, but it was already late and the farmers had already picked the best oranges, so she advised Chunlai that they could only go another day.
"With such beautiful weather, we could have been sunbathing together in the yard and making dried oranges!"
Seeing her dejected expression, Wuxia said, "The oranges at the market are fresh. I'll go buy some. How many do you want, miss?"
Jingwan's eyes lit up and she smiled, "Then I'll trouble you to make the trip. The market near the South Temple Gate sells the freshest produce. Buy half a basket, I'd like to make more so I can take it to Ningzhou with me!"
The South Temple Gate was quite far, but Wuxia didn't mind. She left first, instructing Fangjuan to take Jingwan back to the mansion, saying she would be right back.
But as soon as she left, Jingwan got into the carriage and told the coachman to go to Tonghai Inn.
Chunlai didn't understand why she went to the inn again, but she guessed that sending Wuxia to the South Temple Gate to buy oranges was just a way to lure her away.
At the entrance of the inn, Jingwan told Chunlai to stay in the carriage: "I have a few questions to ask her. Wait here for me for a while."
Without waiting for Chunlai's reply, she hurriedly left. After knocking on the door, panting, Gao Yun looked at her in surprise: "Jingwan, what brings you here?"
Jingwan deftly slipped inside, closed the door behind her, and asked, "You just told me about the Princess? What happened to her?"
So that's what it was about! Gao Yun, still holding the towel she used to wipe her face, then wiped her hands, saying, "I don't know if it's true or not, but I heard from Shi Jun that the princess of the Northwest wasn't killed by the Qiang people..." Her voice instinctively softened when the royal family was involved: "Li Ling, in order to seize the Northwest, made..."
His son-in-law was Qin Ziyou, the one who killed the eldest princess.
"That man, along with Li Ling, harmed countless people in the Northwest; they even burned down Pengcheng..."
Before the words were even finished, Gao Yun saw Jing Wan's face turn pale instantly, the color drain from her lips, and her long, curved eyelashes fluttered gently like small fans...
"Oh, oh, oh... What's wrong with you?" Gao Yun failed to support Jing Wan and fell to the ground with her. She tried to help her up, but Jing Wan was slumped on the ground, and when she touched her hand, it was completely cold.
Jingwan's ears were ringing, and the noise was really making her uncomfortable. She couldn't help but cover her ears and gasp for breath, as if she couldn't breathe.
Gao Yun didn't know what she had said that had offended her, so she patted Jing Wan's chest to calm her down.
Gao Yun sat down on the ground with Jing Wan. She was no longer as agitated as before. Before she knew it, two lines of tears had streamed down her face. She grabbed Gao Yun's hand and cried, "Is what you said true? Is it true!?"
Gao Yun was stunned. It wasn't until Jing Wan asked her again that she said, "It was...it was Shi Jun who said it. She heard it from Qin Gang. I don't know if it's true..."
"Jingwan, what's wrong? Don't scare me..."
As they were talking, the small door was suddenly flung open. When Wuxia rushed in, she saw Jingwan lying on the ground, crying uncontrollably. She sighed weakly, walked slowly over, squatted down in front of Jingwan, and picked her up.
In the inner room of Yuqin Tower, Wuxia placed Jingwan on the bed and saw her holding her arm tightly.
Wuxia knew what she wanted to ask, so she just sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her: "Young Master forbids us from talking about the Northwest in front of you, for fear of upsetting you."
"So, His Highness was really killed by Qin Ziyou?" She was still crying, because she was so heartbroken that her chest felt tight and painful, and she could hardly breathe even when she spoke a single word.
Li Muyun's death was a deep pain in Wuxia's heart; the mere mention of it caused her pain. She didn't want to recall it, dared not think about it. When Jingwan asked her about it, all she could think of was Li Muyun lying on Honghe Ridge, covered in wounds.
"And Pengcheng...the Northwest...that's my home!"
Wuxia didn't speak. Jingwan covered her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably. Wuxia heard her say, "I hate him... I hate him..."
She hugged Wuxia and buried her face in her arms, weeping bitterly.
Chunlai didn't know what had happened. When she saw Jingwan again, her eyes were red from crying. She didn't say anything, so she didn't ask. She just offered her shoulder to Jingwan when she cried.
The people who came to take her to Ningzhou arrived quickly. Besides her and Chunlai, the Cui family's carriage also came.
Cui Dongchi originally wanted to send his sister back to Jianchuan, but Gu Qingchen refused. She had learned some things about what her brother and father had done from others in recent days. Although she was shocked, she knew that this was not something she, as a woman, could interfere with. However, she was afraid of not being by her brother's side, so she urged Cui Dongchi to take her to Ningzhou with him.
On the day the carriage set off, Gu Qingchen did not see Chunlai and Jingwan. The two of them remained seated in the carriage without showing their faces. She snorted coldly, thinking about how to make her younger brother divorce this disobedient concubine after arriving in Ningzhou.
On the 22nd day of the first month of the tenth year of An Shou, Lu Chang, who was in Ningzhou, received a letter from the south, sent from Chaozhou. He thought it was written by Jing Wan and laughed at her for writing to him even though she was about to come to Ningzhou. But when he opened it, his smile froze.
My heart sank; I couldn't hide it any longer.
On the day the Chaozhou caravan arrived in Ningzhou, a soldier reported that the carriages would enter Xingcheng at 1-3 PM.
That day, it was a light snowfall; the weather was cold and the wind was biting. Pedestrians hurried by, but the warmth in people's hearts was the greatest.
After the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), a caravan of carriages stopped. A delicate white hand lifted the curtain, revealing a stunningly beautiful face covered in rabbit fur. A broad, kind hand was right in front of her. Since arriving in Ningzhou, the first person Jingwan had seen was Lu Chang.
Her eyes reddened, and she jumped off the carriage while still inside. As always, Lu Chang caught her with both hands, pulled her into his arms, and couldn't bear to let go.
Seeing a thin layer of snow on the shoulder of his cloak, Jingwan couldn't help but gently brush it away for him. She leaned against him, smelling the comforting scent of cypress, and thought to herself, "It's been so long, cousin."
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