punish
She wiped away her tears and stood blankly on the street, unsure of what to do next.
Wuxia said, "You can ask the young master for help." She thought that as long as you are willing to ask, he will definitely help you.
Jingwan lowered her head in thought. After a while, she asked Wuxia, "Are you my cousin's person?"
She was flustered but quickly recovered, her mind racing through recent events. In fact, subtle clues had already been revealed, and she hadn't tried to hide them. It wasn't surprising that Jingwan could think of this.
Wu Xia remained silent, but felt a little guilty inside. Jing Wan thought carefully about when this girl had appeared in front of her and realized that her cousin knew about everything that had happened to her, which was why he was able to come to Pingdu so quickly to take her back to the Northwest.
I can't quite put my finger on how I feel.
She should have been angry; no one likes having their every move watched. But thinking about how many times she had been helped out of danger over the past few years, she knew she had to be able to tell right from wrong. She didn't want to point at someone and yell, "Why are you watching me like this?!"
“Young master didn’t want me to keep an eye on you. He was just worried that you would be all alone in Pingdu, so he sent me to the Gao family. Miss, even if you are not with young master in the future, you will still be family, and he will still be your cousin. That will not change. If you have any trouble, you can go to him. There is no need to think that there is a difference in your status just because he has power and influence.”
The tears she had stopped flowing again, this time along with snot. She cried and said, "I saw Xiaoyue at Azhiqi's house. She and Azhiqi are engaged. Today she came to play with Azhiqi's sister. We used to play together a lot when we were little."
She cried so hard that her words were incoherent. Wuxia didn't have the habit of carrying a handkerchief, so she could only watch as Wuxia pulled her sleeve to wipe her tears. Although she didn't understand why Wuxia was telling these things, she still listened patiently.
"I thought Xiaoyue would be happy to see me, but the first thing she said was, 'Why are you back?'"
Jingwan sobbed, recalling what had just happened at Azhiqi's house, wondering why her life had become so unbearable.
The first thing Xiaoyue said to her when she saw her was, "Why are you back?" At a glance, it was clear that her expression wasn't one of joy and happiness at a friend returning to their hometown and reuniting, but rather one of disappointment and anger at suddenly encountering a jinx who had been making her life so pleasant.
Before Mingming left Yongye, she hugged herself and said she didn't want her to leave.
They were childhood friends, but this was the first time Jingwan had seen such a strange and indifferent side of them. She couldn't even imagine the scene of young girls holding hands and being affectionate when they met. She just stood there like an uninvited guest, blankly saying, "I'm looking for Azhiqi."
Xiaoyue's expression was not good. After putting down the clothes she was sewing, she walked up to Jingwan and said, "Come with me."
In the small garden, Xiaoyue said, "I'm already engaged to Azhiqi, and we'll get married in the summer."
Jingwan said dryly, "Congratulations."
Xiaoyue smiled weakly: "Jingwan, I don't want you to congratulate me. I want to tell you that Azhiqi already has a fiancée. You... you shouldn't come looking for him anymore. I just ask you to consider my feelings. No one wants their fiancé to be close to another woman."
"I didn't expect you to come back, Jingwan. To be honest, when you left, I thought I hoped you would never come back."
Jingwan and Wuxia sat in the corner. She hugged her knees and cried, "I didn't expect her to hate me so much. I didn't want to take Azhiqi away. I just wanted to ask Azhiqi to help me get my house back."
Wuxia was speechless for a moment. She hadn't expected that going with her today would lead to hearing a love story about two women fighting over one man. At this moment, she was still able to analyze the situation for Jingwan in detail: "Azhiqi likes you, and Xiaoyue likes Azhiqi. Even if you don't want to take Azhiqi away, Xiaoyue will think that you will take Azhiqi away, so of course she is unhappy that you came back." Her words were frighteningly rational.
She patted Jingwan on the shoulder and advised her, "You can snatch Azhiqi back and make that Xiaoyue furious."
Jingwan's eyes were blurry from crying, and tears soaked her eyelashes. Although she looked flawless, you couldn't even make out her features clearly. But after just one glance at Wuxia, she huddled up and cried even harder than before.
Wuxia had only meant to tease Jingwan with her comment about "stealing" Azhiqi, but it backfired and made Jingwan even more upset. She finally became more serious and said, "Things are different now than when you were little. When you played with Azhiqi, it was just childhood friendship, nothing more. But now you're both grown up. If you want to be like that again, then you either have to be family or lovers. If you insist on calling each other friends, then only you two would believe it. Outsiders wouldn't."
Jingwan was still sobbing, unable to lift her head, gazing at the azure sky of Yongye, and continued speaking.
Actually, it had been a very long time since she had spoken so much.
"You've been away from the Northwest for four years, which may not seem like a long time, but from twelve to sixteen, it's enough for a person to change everything, whether it's their appearance or their character. Girl, your hometown and the people you used to know have changed. In fact, even you have changed, but you just won't admit it."
“Even if you don’t ask, the young master will still help you. Jingwan, don’t refuse his kindness. He just wants to help you and doesn’t intend to use this kindness to coerce you into being with him.” She thought for a moment and then said, “After the young master found out that you were with that Qin family boy, he only told me to take good care of you in the future. He never said anything else. He really wants what’s best for you.”
After saying this long speech, Wuxia thought that he had accomplished his mission. He wasn't entirely thinking about his master, but as an outsider, he could see things more clearly.
Jingwan remained perched on her knees, turning her head to look at her: "Is Dongxia your real name?"
Wuxia was taken aback. How did they get back to her name? Nevertheless, she said, "My name is Wuxia, and my surname is Dongfang. Dongfang Wuxia."
Dongfang Wuxia, Dongxia... Jingwan felt that such a person truly deserved the beautiful name Wuxia.
They found an inn to stay in. There was no time to ask the servant for a basin of hot water for Jingwan to wash her face. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. That night, she lay alone in bed, thinking of everyone she could think of who could help her, but found that there was no one who could.
She could no longer look for Azhiqi as before. Lord Yuan had left on official business in the Northwest and she didn't know when he would return. She didn't even have a home anymore, so where could she go?
After staying at the inn for two days, Jingwan went downstairs in a depressed mood. When she reached the top of the stairs, she accidentally bumped into someone. She kept her head down and said sorry in a hoarse voice, but suddenly the person grabbed her wrist.
Jingwan was startled and looked up to see Lu Chang! Hadn't he left the Northwest? Why was he back?
The usually gentle and refined man was now filled with anger, gripping her wrist tighter than usual. Lu Chang had never spoken to Jing Wan with such harshness before: "I won't say anything else, but you kept it from me because you were taken advantage of by that scumbag?"
Before Jingwan could react to what he was saying, Lu Chang pulled her away. After helping her onto his horse, he left without saying a word and led his men to Xiaoxing Village.
Lu Chang remained silent. It was the first time Jing Wan had ever seen him lose his temper with her, and she was a little scared. She weakly called out "Cousin," but Lu Chang still ignored her and sped off. The scenery on both sides became more and more familiar, and they were heading towards Xiaoxing Village.
The chickens and the big dog that used to stroll leisurely in the yard were gone. Two men with the air of warriors stood in front of the gate. When they dismounted, one of them took the reins and the other pushed open the gate.
Lu Chang walked very fast, and Jing Wan was almost running as he pulled her into the inner room. At a glance, she saw a person lying on the ground, bound and twisted like an insect.
A subordinate pulled the man up and made him kneel on the ground. Only then did Jingwan recognize him as her uncle's son, her cousin Feng Chao.
With something stuffed in his mouth, Feng Chao stared wide-eyed at Jing Wan as if she were a Bodhisattva. Even with his mouth covered, he kept making "uh-huh" noises and twisting his body, probably pleading for help from Jing Wan.
With her two cousins gathered together, Jingwan looked at Lu Chang and then at Feng Chao, and she understood why Lu Chang had said those things to her at the inn.
She looked at Feng Chao with disgust, and then remembered what Xiaoyue had said to her at Azhiqi's house: "You'd better hurry back to Pingdu! Even after four years, many people still haven't forgotten that you seduced your cousin! With that kind of reputation, do you think you can live well in Yongye? If you get involved with Azhiqi again, he will be implicated too!"
Jingwan still remembers explaining to Xiaoyue at the time: "You know, I didn't seduce my cousin, it was him...it was him..."
Xiaoyue didn't want to hear her explanation: "Even if we believe you, outsiders won't!"
That day happened to be her twelfth birthday. Azhiqi and Xiaoyue celebrated her birthday. She drank two cups of apricot wine and fell asleep after returning home. In her drowsy state, she felt something pressing down on her, so heavy that she couldn't breathe. When she opened her eyes, she saw that it was Feng Chao who was making advances on her. She was so frightened that she woke up immediately, reached for the carving knife under her pillow, and stabbed it hard into Feng Chao's back.
Later, for some reason, rumors spread that she had seduced her cousin. Because of this, Azhiqi beat up Feng Chao, knocking out one of his front teeth...
As for Lu Chang, he recalled that when Gao Yun took him away, he thought about going to find Jing Wan and taking her with him to Pingdu. But then he thought that to her he was just a stranger he had only known for ten days. He was barely able to take care of himself, so how could he take her with him?
Now all I can do is regret it!
He always chose to abandon her in the name of what was best for her, leaving alone. But now that I think about it, everyone wants to be chosen firmly by someone!
If I had searched for her or asked her back then, even if she was unwilling, I would have no regrets.
Because I gave up before, all I feel now is regret!
Lu Chang looked at the person still struggling on the ground and said coldly, "Take care of him!"
Jingwan thought that killing Feng Chao would mean hating him even more, but the fact that he died because of her made her feel like she was carrying a heavy burden of sin.
Lu Chang knew exactly what she was thinking, and finally softened his expression, reassuring her, "Don't worry, it's just some punishment for him."
He didn't mention any punishment. Jingwan saw Feng Chao being taken away, and she never saw him again after that.
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