The scene before me was bewildering. I tried hard to recall why I was there, but I couldn't remember anything at all. I had a vague feeling that I had forgotten something very important.
I asked my dad why I was here, and he was first surprised and then happy.
He told me that I couldn't get used to living in Beijing, so I secretly ran away and came back. He said he came today to take me home.
I was puzzled as to how he knew about this place, and I didn't believe him. How could I possibly abandon Ruchen and run back by myself? What a joke! I had to get back as soon as possible. I didn't know how long I had been here. Now I was going to get scolded again when I got back.
Oh well, never mind. I'll just take the scolding. As long as I make a mistake, he won't let it go. And if he doesn't let it go, he'll let me off the hook. He won't really hurt me.
Right now, I need to figure out how to get out of this predicament. I never thought that I, who was so wise all my life, would capsize in a ditch. In those years, I relied on my father's power and did a lot of bad things. If he were to settle accounts with me today, my life might be in danger.
When I saw Luo Qingling staring at me with a silly grin, I had an idea. Although I didn't know why my father had brought this little guy along when he came to arrest me, he was my lucky charm right now. Whether I could escape or not depended entirely on him.
"Ling'er, you're here too. Long time no see," I said with ill intent.
"Ling'er misses her older sister so much! Second brother, mother, father, we all miss her. We've finished our medicine, can we go home now?"
"Of course not! My sister needs to pack her bags, and besides, you guys haven't even had a proper look around the place."
The little guy nodded in agreement.
"Later, I'll take you on a tour. I put a lot of effort into making this place. It's not only nestled against the mountains and by the water, but it also has many hermitages' monasteries. Legend has it that there's a fairy cave on Phoenix Mountain in front of here. Would you like to go and see it? I've been there before and I know where it is. I can take you there."
"Uh-huh"
"How about we leave now?"
"Great! Ling'er loves playing this game the most!"
"Ling'er, don't listen to your sister's nonsense. We'll be going back soon. We've been out for so long, your mother and second brother must be worried sick at home. Now that your eldest sister is awake, it's time to go back. I'm going out to check if the horses have been fed. You stay here and watch over your eldest sister, don't let her run away again. If she runs away, you'll never see your eldest sister again."
I was getting really into my charade when my dad spoke up. He's such a sly old fox; he knew what I was thinking with just a glance. The saying "no one knows a son better than his father" is no joke. Even after all these years, his sense of smell is still so sharp. If it were before, it would have taken me a lot of effort to get away with this.
He seems to have forgotten that I know martial arts. In the past, he would just lock the door and unleash the "dogs," but today he only locked the door and unleashed the "weaklings."
I saw my father's footsteps disappear as soon as he left the door, and I knew that the old man was watching me again. So I pretended to be affectionate and picked up the little one, preparing to perform a short play about the deep affection between brother and sister for my father. Although I hadn't performed in many years, I still had the basics.
"I have remembered what Father said."
As I smoothed the stray hairs off the little guy's forehead, I asked him a question.
"Ling'er remembers," he said reluctantly after a long while.
"Then let's stay home obediently and wait for Daddy to come back, okay?"
Despite his resentful expression, the little guy still obediently said "okay." I picked him up and put him on the kang (heated brick bed), covered him with a quilt, added some firewood to the stove, and then got on the kang myself. In the cold Northwest, only on this warm kang can one feel warm during this season.
Once on the kang (heated brick bed), with nothing much to do, he took the leftover hair ties from making bracelets for the village girls for the Dragon Boat Festival and started playing a game of picking up the hair ties.
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