Standing before the city gate, Lu Shenyun stood with his hands behind his back, watching the two figures disappear into the distance.
The setting sun cast a dazzling, multicolored glow, and his expression was indifferent and slightly somber, half of his handsome face shrouded in shadow.
They were the first to dare to force their way through the city gate personally guarded by the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
In an instant, the crowd erupted in a clamor of discussion. The soldiers, slow to react, hurriedly gathered together, awaiting their commander's next instructions.
Huang Yu, who had been staring in disbelief, snapped out of it and clicked his tongue twice. "No wonder he's Xu Ge Lao's son, he's got some nerve. Should we send someone after him?"
"No need, let them go." The voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
"Are you just going to watch your savior get kidnapped?"
Lu Shenyun narrowed his eyes, his calm voice undisturbed, "They are not on the same path. They will never be able to be together in this lifetime."
Huang Yu nodded, brushed the dust kicked up by the horse from his clothes, and then looked at his brothers beside him.
What about you?
The steed galloped through the narrow city gate, as if breaking free from its shackles and traversing time, finally able to ride freely on the wide road.
The wind whistled past his ears, and the silver fox fur brushed against his cheeks, but Shen Qingchen's heart remained restless.
The culprit's voice rang out again, "Hey, how exciting is it?"
Qingchen gripped the robe on his shoulder tightly, feeling his palms were already sweaty and his body was burning with heat.
Not only did she not bow to Lu Shenyun, but she also forced her way through the city gate right under his nose, creating such a huge commotion... Her mind was still filled with the thrilling scene from just now, and the complex emotions in Lu Shenyun's eyes when she looked back.
And that's how I went for it...
"Hey, say something." The man turned around, a hint of excited smile on his lips.
Qingchen took a breath and asked, "Aren't you going back?"
He couldn't hear clearly and shouted, "What did you say? I can't hear you. Speak louder!"
She bit her lower lip, then leaned close to his ear and shouted, "Didn't I say you weren't going back?! How dare you force your way through the city gates?! Especially in front of Lu Shenyun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"
Although her clear voice was shouting, it still carried a touch of the soft, gentle quality of Jiangnan, making it sound powerful but lacking in ferocity. After shouting, she blinked, feeling as if her eyes were a little wet, her chest unsettled, and a sense of inexplicable unease washing over her.
Xu Silin was startled by her. His ears, which had turned red from the cold wind, twitched. He turned his head and said in a nonsensical way, "You're so fierce."
Feeling a little embarrassed by his words, Qingchen lowered her head and blinked her eyelashes.
"Don't be afraid!" The person in front turned their head again. "I know what you're worried about. It's okay."
"We forced our way through the city gates, violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty. How could we be unharmed..."
“I was the one riding the horse, I was the one with the travel permit saying I wanted to leave the city, and I was the one who forced my way through the city gate,” he said, glancing at her slender fingers out of the corner of his eye. “You were just sitting there, so how could anything have happened to you?”
After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence between the two.
The cold winter wind was still blowing, and the poplar trees on both sides of the road were bare, while the setting sun was spreading across the horizon.
Seeing that the person behind him didn't say anything, he said again, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything again?"
A moment later, her voice rang out, "And what about you?"
Xu Silin was slightly taken aback, wondering if he had misheard, and turned around to ask, "Are you worried about me?"
Shen Qingchen did not answer. In any case, if she hadn't wanted to see the embankment, he wouldn't have broken through the city gate.
"It's unnecessary!" Xu Silin said, seeing the already somber atmosphere and the excitement of breaking through the city gates almost worn off.
Qingchen was stunned for a moment.
"Don't you know who I am?" His handsome, youthful face was exquisitely sculpted, with a faint light reflecting off the tip of his nose. "Why are you worried about me? Isn't that unnecessary?"
"..."
Qingchen had to admit that he was right. What kind of status did he have? He was the beloved son of Grand Secretary Xu Yan, the future leader of the Xu Party. Why would someone as lowly as a junior scholar like her worry about him?
Looking at the endless road ahead bathed in the setting sun, she sighed softly.
A short while later, the flat road came to a fork in the road. Xu Silin suddenly tightened the reins, turned the horse around, and galloped onto the fork in the road.
This path is not an official road, and it is not flat, with occasional small hills of varying heights.
After the horse leaped high and landed several times, Qingchen finally couldn't help but lean close to his ear and ask, "Do we really have to take this road? Wasn't the official road we just took much better?"
"Hmm? This road is shorter." The person in front of him said nonchalantly, cracking his whip again. On such a difficult road, he seemed to finally experience the thrill of riding a horse, and his spirits were high.
There were no other pedestrians on this path, and the sunset cast dappled light and shadow on the nearby woods.
In the vast expanse of land, only the light, swift clatter of horses' hooves could be heard.
Qingchen swayed back and forth on horseback, and could only carefully hold onto his robes, afraid of being thrown off. Even so, she still couldn't quite control her body, sometimes leaning forward and sometimes backward, almost bumping into him. After a while, she finally couldn't help but say, "You... could you slow down a little?"
"No, we can't." The man turned around, his thin lips parting slightly. "We still have a long way to go, we need to speed things up a bit. Just bear with it."
Upon reaching a valley between hills, he did not slow down, but instead spurred his horse, causing it to suddenly leap downhill.
Unexpectedly, Qingchen lost her grip and leaned forward uncontrollably, instantly pressing herself against his back!
Xu Silin heard a scream, then felt someone bump into him from behind. Turning around, he saw a bundle between them and was slightly disappointed. However, he was still in a good mood. "Are you alright?"
She slapped his shoulder, a little annoyed. "Can't you ride properly?"
The soft slap felt strangely comforting to him, and he said innocently, "I was riding just fine. See, nothing's wrong with us, is it?"
Unable to argue with him, she sullenly shut her mouth. Seeing that she didn't speak, Xu Silin sighed.
She remained silent.
“Hey,” he exclaimed again, “I really didn’t mean to. Don’t be angry.”
silence.
"How about I let you hit me again?"
"..."
"Two times? Three times? Five times..."
Qingchen finally couldn't hold back any longer, "You should ride your horse properly! Watch where you're going!"
He smiled and said, "Speaking means you're not angry anymore, so you can't ignore me for a while."
...
Before sunset, the two finally arrived in Huairou and found the embankment where Han Yuanshu cursed his grandmother.
Xu Silin dismounted first, reached out his hand to Qingchen on horseback, and a long shadow stretched far behind him. "Come down. I told you, taking the shortcut is much faster."
Qingchen ignored him, tightened the bundle behind her, and dismounted by stepping on the stirrups.
Rejected again, he awkwardly touched his nose. "Didn't we agree not to get angry anymore? Why are you being so petty?"
"I'm not angry." Time was running out, and she didn't have time to say more to him. She simply walked towards the embankment.
Since the horse couldn't easily go up the embankment, Xu Silin had no choice but to lead the horse and call out to her back, "I'll find a place to tie the horse first. Be careful."
She did not answer.
Upon reaching the dam, one sees the river flowing gently, sunlight shimmering on its surface. The trees along the banks are uneven, most of their branches withered or fallen leaves. Occasionally, an unidentified bird takes flight from the trees, skimming across the darkening sky.
When she was little, her father took her to see the dam and let her experience its magnificent beauty. It's just a pity that he is now…
To stop himself from overthinking, Qingchen took out the booklet and began to carefully observe the dam.
The main materials used to build the dikes in the Ming Dynasty were stone blocks and wooden piles. First, sturdy wooden piles were used as the foundation, and then the main structure was built with stone blocks, which were connected with iron ingots. Finally, lime, glutinous rice, and tung oil were used to fill the gaps.
The dam beneath her feet was the same. Because it had been built a long time ago, grass had grown around it, and some of the stone slabs had been eroded smooth by the water. Several of the stone slabs on the dam were different from the others, clearly indicating that they had been cracked and repaired before, and now many new cracks had appeared.
The dam has its limits in terms of stress; the more cracks appear, the greater the likelihood of it leaking and collapsing. In the current situation, minor repairs are insufficient, and the possibility of a dangerous situation is too high. To ensure the safety of the surrounding residents, a major overhaul is necessary. Three thousand taels of silver is definitely not enough; it's far from sufficient.
Shen Qingchen walked back and forth on the embankment, collecting sand, gravel, and wood chips to observe their moisture and hardness, recording his observations as he went. Before he knew it, the sky had gradually darkened, with only a few drops of white remaining in the air.
She glanced towards the embankment and saw the black horse tethered to a poplar tree, grazing with its head down. Xu Silin was nowhere to be seen.
She glanced around but didn't see anyone. She didn't have time to think about it and simply lowered her head to continue with her work.
Unbeknownst to Qingchen, Xu Silin was currently hiding behind a tree, idly tugging at the grass. He witnessed Qingchen's slender figure pacing back and forth, his smooth forehead in the sunlight, his faintly red lips, his earnest expression as he examined the sand, and his searching gaze after Qingchen's disappearance… everything was observed by him.
When Xu Silin noticed that Shen Qingchen had disappeared, he was initially pleased, but then he realized that she wasn't worried at all and didn't even call out to him, which made him feel a little disappointed.
Looking up at the sky, he sighed softly. It seemed that he wouldn't be able to wait for someone to come looking for him; they had to hurry back.
He got up and went up the embankment. He saw her standing on the edge of the embankment, taking notes seriously. After waiting in solitude, he decided to play a trick on her and quietly walked up behind her.
Qingchen was diligently recording the water flow on the river surface and did not notice that Xu Silin had approached. Suddenly, she felt a force pushing her away from behind, but at the same time, a hand tightly grabbed her arm, and a warm temperature came from the palm.
In her panic, she lost her grip on the pen, which fell into the river and quickly sank.
Startled, Qingchen turned around and saw a smiling face, shrouded in the twilight. "Wasn't it exciting?"
She forcefully pushed his hand away, glared at him angrily, and remained silent.
He was somewhat stunned, and the smile on his lips stiffened. "What's wrong? Isn't it fun?"
After a long pause, she took a breath and said seriously, "It's not exciting at all, and it's not fun at all! When you do these things, can't you consider how other people feel?!"
Xu Silin hadn't expected her to actually get angry. He said in a low voice, "I used to play like this with Lin Mo too. If you don't like it, I won't do it again. I didn't really mean to push you away." As he spoke, he half-raised the hand that had been tightly gripping hers, wanting her to know his feelings.
"Some things, once done, can't be undone!" she said, pointing excitedly to the flowing river. "My pen fell in, and I can't get it back!"
That was the jade pen that Song Yue had given her. She hadn't kept it safe.
"A pen?" He hadn't expected her to be so excited over a pen. He blinked. "...I have many pens. I can give you any kind of pen you like."
"Can you compensate for the value, can you compensate for the meaning?"
Xu Silin really wanted to know what it meant, but under these circumstances, he had no right to ask.
After a moment of silence, he looked at the rushing water and asked, "Will you forgive me if I help you find that pen?"
"What?"
"Would you forgive me if I jumped?"
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