Chapter 69 The Marquis of Wu'an Will Not Marry You
When Dai Li regained consciousness, what she saw before her was a plain-colored canopy with faint peony patterns on it, which did not look like anything ordinary.
When she first woke up, Dai Li felt dizzy, as if a rolling pin had been churning her brain several times. Her memories were fragmented, piece by piece.
And whether it was her imagination or not, she felt as if the bed beneath her was shaking.
"Madam, you're awake." Suddenly someone spoke.
The voice was completely unfamiliar, and it was androgynous and unfamiliar to her.
Dai Li shuddered, and an invisible rope instantly extended outward, pulling her fragmented memories back together, and the previous scenes appeared completely before her eyes.
A jewelry store, Nian Xia Bipo, a maid serving tea trays...
Dai Li suddenly sat up, but whether it was because she stood up too quickly or for some other reason, she felt dizzy and swayed backward. However, before she could fall, she was caught.
"Madam, please be careful."
Only then did Dai Li get a clear look at the person who had spoken earlier.
With willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, the person before her was dressed in white, possessing a tranquil and gentle temperament, like a graceful beauty stepping out of a painting of court ladies. But her voice was incredibly spirited, carrying a sharpness completely different from her appearance.
"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me and bring me here?" Dai Li pushed away the hand that was supporting her.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't anxious at that moment. She disappeared without saying a word to Zhouzhou, and her son must be worried sick.
But when talking to strangers like these, the worst thing you can do is reveal your weaknesses. Only the high-ranking military officers in the North know that she has found her son, and before she knows who these people in front of her are, Dai Li will absolutely not reveal any unnecessary information.
Seeing Dai Li's wariness, the woman in white smiled slightly, "Madam, there is no need to be so cautious. We are Buddhist monks who practice Buddhism at home. Everyone calls me Embroidery Girl, and you may call me that too, Madam."
Dai Li was stunned.
Are there lay Buddhists or monks?
This title sounds a lot like...
"Are you the Green Lotus Sect?" Dai Li asked in surprise.
The embroiderer nodded with a smile, "Indeed, Madam has indeed heard of us."
Dai Li's eyelids twitched.
Well, she actually ran into the Green Lotus Sect that Qin Shaozong wanted to eradicate?
"Why did you kidnap me?" Dai Li frowned.
"The Marquis of Wu'an is vulgar and forced your wife to submit to him. Your wife is a woman of great wisdom and talent, capable of governing a country. To be a mere concubine is a disgrace. Our master took pity on your plight and could not bear to see you buried in obscurity, so he devised a way to take you away from Bai Ri City," the embroiderer explained.
Dai Li slowly lowered her eyes, concealing the darkness beneath them.
The fact that this self-proclaimed embroiderer could utter the word "coercion" indicates that the other party must know that she had fled to Nankang County. At this time, pretending to be stupid with the embroiderer would only increase the other party's vigilance.
A hint of hesitation appeared on her face, but Dai Li didn't respond to her question. She simply said, "I'm a little hungry."
Her room has windows, and the sunlight streams in boldly, casting large, bright patches of light.
It's daytime now.
She didn't eat dinner last night, so it's no lie to say she's hungry now.
"Let me help you up." The embroiderer reached out her hand again.
Dai Li didn't refuse this time because she realized something was wrong with her body. It had been a while since she woke up, but she couldn't muster any strength, and there was a strange taste in her mouth.
"Did you give me something to eat?" Dai Li asked anxiously.
Traditional Chinese medicine is undoubtedly profound and extensive, and its pharmacology is not far behind. She was very worried that she had ingested poison and would need their antidote.
Last night, Dai Li lay down fully clothed, so now she only needs to straighten her clothes and put on her shoes. The embroiderer bent down to put on her shoes, and in the process, her gaze inevitably fell on her embroidered shoes again.
Made of brocade, the surface is adorned with moon-white mother-of-pearl pieces that shimmer exceptionally in the sunlight. The toe of the shoe is inlaid with a large, full pearl that gleams with a soft light, clearly a rare and precious item.
Upon seeing this, the embroiderer lowered her eyes and said, "Yesterday was a long and tiring journey, and we were worried that you might have been tired along the way, so we gave you a calming pill."
Dai Li asked suspiciously, "Is that all?"
The embroiderer handled Dai Li like a large doll, first helping her turn to the side after she had put on her shoes, and then tidying her disheveled hair. "Of course. Madam is a distinguished guest of our master, so she must be treated with courtesy."
Half a meter was already considered intimate, and Dai Li wasn't used to strangers getting close, especially since she couldn't see the other person at this moment. She suppressed her discomfort and asked, "Who is your husband?"
"Madam will find out soon," the embroiderer simply said.
After quickly helping Dai Li with her hair and washing up, the embroiderer supported her out of the room. As they reached the door, Dai Li pushed her hand away, saying, "I can walk by myself, I can manage slowly."
The embroiderer did not force her.
Just now, Dai Li suspected that the bed was shaking. Now that she had stepped out onto the veranda and saw the surging river, she realized that she really was on a boat.
With green mountains on both sides and a few boats floating on the river, the view is exceptionally wide. A breeze carrying moisture brushes against your face, bringing a refreshing coolness, and sunlight dances on the river, shimmering in layers of shattered gold.
At this moment, the viewer is generally delighted.
Dai Li was the exception.
She gazed at the flowing river, her heart filled with anxiety. Near Bai Ri City, there was only the Jin River flowing from west to east, and now, traveling upstream by boat, she was heading west.
To the west, we entered the Yanzhou region.
In one night plus half a day, the boat could travel dozens of miles upstream.
"Madam, please." The embroiderer stood outside the corridor, separating Dai Li from her and preventing her from leaning on the railing.
Dai Li withdrew her gaze and followed her to the main hall.
The main hall, filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, was empty and deserted. Dai Li casually sat down at a small table.
From the room to the main hall, it was just a side corridor. When she sat down, Dai Li clearly felt that her heart rate was too high and she was also very tired. She guessed that it was because the medicine had not been completely metabolized.
So when the embroiderer had the soup dumplings brought up, Dai Li ate them all up, leaving not a drop of soup.
Seeing that Dai Li had a good appetite, the embroiderer's smile deepened. "What else would you like to eat, Madam?"
Dai Li: "Please give me a glass of water, not tea, but boiled and cooled water."
"Please wait here for a moment." The embroiderer left the main hall.
Not long after she left, Dai Li heard footsteps. The person who came walked steadily and calmly, with an air of composure.
Soon, a tall figure entered from outside.
The young man, dressed in white, had a handsome face. His long robe, embroidered with cranes and trimmed with gold, suited him perfectly. As he walked, the wide sleeves of his white robe fluttered slightly, like the outstretched wings of a white crane, adding to his ethereal and otherworldly aura amidst the fragrant sandalwood incense.
Di Ting met Dai Li's eyes and smiled gently, "Did you sleep well last night, Madam?"
Dai Li thought to herself that this person must have done it on purpose, feeding her the medicine so that she was completely unconscious, and then asking her if she was sleeping well.
I started by testing her personality.
"It's not good, but it's not bad either," Dai Li said calmly.
Even when she puts her face down, she is still stunningly beautiful, and she exudes an aloof and distant air.
Di Ting's gaze lingered briefly on Dai Li's eyebrows and eyes, but he was momentarily distracted by the cinnabar mole on her forehead. When he came to his senses, the fleeting thought from before had vanished without a trace.
“The Marquis of Wu’an keeps a very close watch on his wife, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic. I hope the lady will understand.” Di Ting took a seat opposite her.
"How shall I address you?" Dai Li asked.
Di Ting raised his hand to guide the small stove and placed the pottery pot on it. "Di Ting, you can call me Di Ting, Madam."
Dai Li seemed to be deep in thought.
Di Ting is the mount of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and a protective auspicious beast. Compared to "Embroiderer," the symbolic "Di Ting" is clearly closer to the core meaning.
Dai Li: "I heard from the embroiderer that you took me away from Bai Ri City because you thought I had the talent to govern the country? But how come I didn't know I had such great talent?"
Di Ting chuckled softly, "Madam, there's no need for modesty. I know the Salt Stone was made by you. Besides, there's the Dragon Bone Waterwheel. Although it's widely said that you brought it from the hands of a hermit surnamed Ma, this hermit surnamed Ma..."
At this point, Di Ting shook his head, "Unfindable."
Dai Li raised her delicate eyebrows slightly: "Are you so sure it was me? The salt lake in Ying County was previously occupied by a salt smuggler surnamed Li. Why couldn't it be that the salt smuggler had just discovered the salt stone, but before he could openly announce it, Qin Changgeng beat him to it and intercepted it first?"
Di Ting smiled and shook his head, "It can't be him."
He spoke with such certainty that Dai Li suddenly recalled that after the great victory at Peach Blossom Ridge, during the bonfire banquet, Qin Shaozong had said that Li Zan's power was growing at an unusual speed, and there might be some hidden reason behind it.
Now it seems the key lies in the person right in front of us.
Dai Li turned to look out the window. The sun was shining brightly; it was a beautiful day. "Yes, the salt stone was indeed made by me. But there's something I think you've misunderstood. As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Just researching refined salt has exhausted all my abilities in the first half of my life, and I really can't live up to your description of me as a 'talent for governing the country'."
“Does Madam wish to remain by Marquis Wu’an’s side indefinitely? Marquis Wu’an is cursed by misfortune, with weak ties to his family. In the past, his parents, elder brother and sister-in-law, and wife all died because of him. Moreover, Marquis Wu’an has never been interested in women and is not a good man. Not to mention, he had an agreement with the Wei family, the maternal family of his deceased wife, that if he were to remarry, he could only marry a woman from the Wei family.” Di Ting looked at the woman opposite him.
She wore a smoky purple peony round-necked ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her figure graceful and her beauty surpassing all others. Her peach blossom eyes were slightly upturned at the corners, and her gaze revealed a hint of languor, showing a composure completely different from that of a young girl.
The room was brightly lit, but not as dazzling as she was.
“Madam is a woman of unparalleled beauty, and Marquis Wu’an is currently very fond of her. But have you thought about the future? There is a prior agreement with the Wei family that Marquis Wu’an will not marry you. Beauty fades and love wanes; love and hate change. He has always been indifferent to women. Madam should find another way out.” Di heard the water boiling and slowly picked up the pottery pot.
“How could I not know that I should find a way out? But the world is vast and the situation is turbulent. There are crises everywhere. I don’t know where to go.” Dai Li lowered her eyes, hiding the dark light in them. “Although Marquis Wu’an has many faults, he did agree to something for me before.”
Back when she was in Nankang County, Mo Yanyun helped her search for people in various prefectures. Later, the northern regions even issued search notices to various prefectures.
This can be traced back to Nankang County.
"Does Madam mean that Marquis Wu'an promised to find your son?" Sure enough, Dai Li heard the other party say so.
Dai Li nodded in response.
"If Marquis Wu'an can do what your son did, so can we." Di Ting took a dried melon and put it into the teacup. "Madam asked where to go, and I can try to give you an answer."
Dai Li suddenly looked up, completely ignoring the rest of his sentence, "Is this true? You can find my son for me?"
Her dark eyes were like peach blossoms in March, extremely bright, like sunlight reflecting on the surface of a stream.
Di Ting lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze, "Of course it's true. The followers of my Qinglian Sect are countless, scattered all over the world. We have people in Jiaozhou in the far south, and also in the north. If the sect issues an order, your son is not impossible to find."
"So the way out you're telling me is for me to join the Green Lotus Sect?" Dai Li made her point clear.
"Flowers bloom towards the Buddha, praying for rebirth in the Western Pure Land." Di Ting's smile was sincere, even somewhat fanatical. "The so-called silt originates from chaos. Madam, you and I can both be purifiers of the silt."
Perhaps it was the deep-seated red radar that clashed so fiercely with the cult's ideology that made Dai Li feel a chill run down her spine as she looked at the person in front of her.
But Dai Li hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject, "Where is the ship heading?"
Di heard, "Go to Sweetwater County."
Dai Li frowned upon hearing this.
She had previously looked at a map while she was at home and if she remembered correctly, Sweetwater County was already beyond the border between Sizhou and Yanzhou and was completely within the territory of Sizhou.
Sizhou is too far from other prefectures.
She did not want to live under someone else's roof and did want to leave, but it was definitely not a separation between mother and child.
"What is the lady worried about?" Di Ting suddenly asked.
Dai Li didn't hide anything: "Naturally, I'm afraid of leaving one tiger's den only to fall into another. Although Marquis Wu'an is vulgar and sometimes unreasonable, I only need to serve him in his mansion, and my food, clothing, and lodging are not bad. I don't want to go to other places where not only is the food and lodging not good, but I also have to serve several more guests."
Perhaps not expecting her to be so direct, Di Ting paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, "Of course not, Madam is a distinguished guest, we won't force you."
Dai Li felt a chill run down her spine because she inexplicably sensed a hidden meaning in the words.
Distinguished guest, we will not force you.
But if she refuses to cooperate, then she is no longer a distinguished guest...
Whether they had prepared a lot of supplies in advance or not, for three consecutive days, the boats did not stop to resupply at a ferry crossing.
As Dai Li watched the green mountains on both sides of the river recede into the distance, a fire burned within her, making her restless and uneasy. With each passing hour, she moved further away from Zhouzhou.
Just as she was pondering how to get the ship to shore, it suddenly came to a slow stop.
Soon, Dai Li learned why the ship had stopped.
"Sir, there are several floating boats on the river ahead, and from a distance, you can see guards with swords. They look like government officials and are inspecting passing ships."
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Author's Note: My tenosynovitis flared up, my hands are sore and aching, so please bear with me [pity].
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