secret message
In the evening, the group sat down to eat together. Uncle Gong put some food into Jingwan's bowl and said, "Eat more."
Jingwan felt a warmth in her heart as she looked at the extra bamboo shoots in her bowl. She used to love this dish when she was in Pingdu.
Seeing that Jingwan had eaten a few more mouthfuls of rice, Qin Ziyou was pleased and couldn't help but put some bamboo shoots on her plate. However, she quickly moved her bowl away, turned her body towards Chunlai, and ate her rice with her head down without looking at him.
The chopsticks were still hanging in mid-air, and the atmosphere was a little awkward, but he just smiled and ate the bamboo shoot himself.
Gong Shu glanced at Jing Wan, who had her head down, and then at Qin Ziyou; his smile faded considerably.
After the meal, Qin Ziyou's mother went back to her room first, where a maid helped her with her toilette. After she fell asleep, Gong Shu returned to his own room.
There was no one in the courtyard. Jingwan closed the door, lay down on the bed, and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
She has been imprisoned in Ruyuan for more than ten days. She doesn't know what's happening outside, whether her cousin has sent anyone to look for her, or whether he knows that she was kidnapped by Qin Ziyou.
If it weren't for Chunlai and Gongshu, she would definitely have been driven crazy by Qin Ziyou.
Jingwan thought of Qin Ziyou's mother again. She had only been there for a dozen days and felt extremely depressed and uncomfortable, but Qin Ziyou's mother had been imprisoned for a full twenty years.
And then there's Uncle Gong. His daughter suffered so much torment, and he couldn't do anything about it. He didn't even have a chance to visit her.
After being brought to Ruyuan by Qin Ziyou, Uncle Gong recognized her at a glance: "Jingwan, what are you doing in the Northwest?" Before he could finish speaking, he slapped his forehead helplessly and laughed: "I'm getting senile. I remember you're from the Northwest!"
Qin Ziyou glanced at her and said, "Grandpa, Jingwan is coming to stay at our house for a while."
Uncle Gong laughed repeatedly, "Alright, alright, come in quickly!"
Just like at the Weaver Girl Workshop, Uncle Gong was always warm and considerate.
Jingwan didn't even dare to say things like, "I was captured by your grandson, please let me go back." Qin Ziyou had people watching her, so she couldn't escape. Since she couldn't escape, she didn't want to upset the old man.
But she couldn't stay here forever; she had to find a way to leave Ruyuan. And Chunlai—she had to take her with her.
This is Yongye, her hometown. If she sees someone she knows on the way, she might have a chance to escape.
Just as she was thinking about how to escape, there was a knock at the door. Jingwan jumped up with a jolt, clutching the blanket nervously, without saying a word.
Who could be knocking on the door so late? Jingwan didn't move, assuming she was asleep and couldn't hear the sound.
After two more sounds, there was no more movement outside. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to lie down when she saw the window next to the door being pushed open. Qin Ziyou jumped in from outside, clapped his hands, stood by the window, and smiled smugly, like a child who had successfully sneaked out of the house without telling the adults.
Jingwan was momentarily lost in thought. Qin Ziyou used to smile like that too, pure as water, without a trace of impurity.
Qin Ziyou sat on the edge of the bed and laughed, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He didn't know how much he had been laughing these past few days.
Jingwan snapped out of her daze and shrank back into the corner of the bed. She asked him, "What exactly do you want?"
Qin Ziyou didn't like her distancing herself from him, so he leaned closer, only to see Jingwan shrink back in fright.
After a moment of despondency, he said, "When the time is right, I will take you away, along with my mother and my grandfather. We will leave this place together."
Jingwan sneered at him: "Would Li Ling really let you leave?"
Qin Ziyou did not respond to her directly, but reached out to touch her face, but Jingwan slapped his hand away.
"Uncle Gong told me he was very happy because you came to the Northwest to join the army, drove away the invading foreign tribes, and protected the territory of the Great Wei. Qin Ziyou, is that how you lied to him?"
Qin Ziyou's face turned cold. He stared at Jing Wan, his eyes filled with a turbulent, ever-changing atmosphere that made her feel uneasy and nauseous.
Her cousin wouldn't do that. When he looked at her, she felt at ease; she loved that his eyes were always on her.
Jingwan clenched her fists, wishing she could run away from him right now, and even considered waking up Uncle Gong.
Qin Ziyou said, "I didn't lie to my grandfather. I drove the Qiang people away."
"What about the Princess? Do you dare say you didn't kill her!" Jingwan became agitated at the mention of Li Muyun, and her earlier fear subsided somewhat. She looked at Qin Ziyou, wondering if he dared to continue lying.
Sure enough, this time it was his turn to look away.
Qin Ziyou seemed lost in thought. He didn't speak for a while before looking at Jingwan and smiling, "You used to love jade carving. Do you still remember those little trinkets you used to work on?"
Jingwan didn't understand: "What do you mean?"
Qin Ziyou continued to smile, but Jingwan was so frightened that her hair stood on end. She heard him say, "Weaving Maiden's Workshop, my maternal grandfather's house, you once pondered a fishbone jade hairpin. There was a piece of paper under the hairpin with two lines of writing on it. When I left Pingdu to go to find my maternal grandfather, I glanced at it casually and remembered it."
Fishbone jade hairpin? Jingwan remembered. She had indeed carved a fishbone jade hairpin. Qin Ziyou and she had agreed to go to the Northwest together, and she had planned to make this hairpin before leaving to take with her.
"In the Northwest Moon-Gazing Tower, a beautiful woman stands. Her hairpin is made of fish bones, and she quietly casts her shadow around herself."
“I saw the same fishbone hairpin that you carved on Li Muyun’s body. I made up a story, and she believed it, missing her chance to kill me.”
“She’s still too sentimental. If she could be ruthless, I would surely die. But even if I die, someone else will take my place. Jingwan, killing her was a scheme orchestrated by Li Ling and Yang Fujin long ago. You can’t blame me for her death.”
Jingwan couldn't listen anymore. She must have been blind to have fallen for him.
"Bastard, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Just a moment ago she was thinking of running away, but now, all she wanted was to kill him!
Jingwan couldn't bear to hear him recite the name of the eldest princess; she felt it was an insult to the princess who had passed away long ago.
Qin Ziyou said, "Then you will stay by my side until you kill me!"
He got up and left. Jingwan stared intently at his back, her hands gripping the brocade quilt tightly. She regretted leaving those few lines behind.
Qin Ziyou left Ruyuan early. When Jingwan got up to have breakfast, Gongshu carefully examined her somewhat red and swollen eyes.
He didn't ask her what was wrong, but handed his money pouch to Jingwan and said, "I'm going out to buy some snacks today. Staying at home all day is getting boring."
Jingwan took the money pouch and shook her head. The maid standing next to her said, "Young Master said that things are not peaceful outside. It is best for the people in the manor not to go out. If they really want to go out, they need Young Master's permission."
Uncle Gong waved his hand: "It's just going out to buy some snacks, there's nothing to be afraid of." He said kindly, "Go out for a walk and have some fun, don't stay at home all day."
The maid looked at Gong Shu with a troubled expression and said, "Let's wait for the young master to return. The guards won't let you go out anyway."
Gong Shu didn't say anything more.
Jingwan forced a smile and said, "It's good to stay at home. I'll keep you company and talk to you."
Gong Shu sighed softly, and Jing Wan could hear the helplessness in his sigh.
The weather was fine that day, and Chunlai accompanied Qin Ziyou's mother to play with a little spotted puppy. The puppy, only two months old, could only whine and curl up, looking incredibly cute.
The woman squatted on the ground, her eyes revealing curiosity. She even stretched out her finger and let the puppy gently nibble on it.
Uncle Gong sat beside her, watching his daughter play with the puppy with loving eyes. Before long, his eyes welled up with tears.
Jingwan watched him wipe away his tears and said somewhat embarrassedly, "These past few days have been strange; I keep thinking about the past. I guess I'm getting old, getting old..."
As they were talking, a voice came from the front hall: "Madam, you mustn't! If the young master finds out, he will surely punish us servants."
Jingwan looked up and saw a woman walk in, followed by servants and guards who seemed to be blocking her from entering, but who would dare to touch her in the slightest?
Standing at the threshold, Li Changying first saw Jingwan, then the white jade bracelet on her wrist.
He smiled, his expression utterly sarcastic. Sure enough, there was a beauty lurking there, captivating Qin Ziyou's heart. He was keeping her hidden away; no wonder he wouldn't allow her in.
Li Changying knew Jingwan; when this woman fell into the water at the Prince's villa, Qin Ziyou rushed to save her as if his life depended on it.
Later, Qin Ziyou even wanted to elope with her.
She stepped over the threshold and slowly walked in, her eyes fixed on Jingwan.
Gong Shu quickly stood in front of Jing Wan, his attitude towards her quite respectful: "Princess, this is a distant relative of mine, who has come to the Northwest to visit me." Gong Shu wanted to cover for her, but little did he know that the two of them already knew each other.
Li Changying sneered, and after giving Jingwan a quick once-over, she left.
After she left, Uncle Gong looked at Jingwan and said, "Jingwan, did Xiaoyou force you to stay here?" Before she could answer, he continued, "He's different from before. I can tell. This child is always preoccupied. He's only been a little happier these past two days when you were here."
Jingwan wiped away her tears and sat down with her head down.
Lu Chang's 100,000-strong army crossed the Pingyuan River, and Li Ling sent Qin Gang to negotiate peace. In his words, Qin Gang seemed unaware of Jing Wan's existence.
Jingwan was not included in the terms of the negotiation.
If he didn't use Jingwan to threaten him, then why did he kidnap her?
After Qin Gang left, another guest arrived at the army camp—a seven or eight-year-old child wearing straw sandals, with a blade of grass in his mouth, and his hair braided into small braids, dressed like a child from Northwest China.
He wasn't afraid of Lu Chang, nor was he afraid of the grim and imposing military camp. He came and went as freely as if he were at home. When he saw Lu Chang, the straw he was chewing swayed back and forth. He simply tossed a letter onto Lu Chang's table and said in a Northwestern accent:
"You must be General Lu? Here, this is for you."
The soldiers said that the boy had been loitering around suspiciously, and despite several attempts to shoo him away, he wouldn't leave and kept saying he wanted to see General Lu. The soldiers didn't want to deal with him, but he shouted outside the camp, which alerted Lu Chang, who then ordered him to be brought in.
Chen Min first took it, examined it, and finding nothing amiss, then took it out and presented it to Lu Chang.
“Wanyu Yongye Ruyuan, written by Qin Ziyou.”
He suddenly stood up, intending to ask the child a question, but then heard Chen Min say, "Hey, there's a dried flower in this envelope. What's that? I've never seen it before!"
Lu Chang looked at the flower in Chen Min's hand; it was a wild onion flower that could only be found in the Northwest.
Wild onion flowers, an envelope, a child—he knows who sent the letter.
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