Chapter 24 Imprisonment.
During these few days on the run, Xie San Niang gained a new understanding of Ling Yi's "gentle exterior but resilient interior".
Because of the Seventh Prince's forged imperial edict, the borders of various states were heavily guarded, and they had to conceal their movements, making their journey extremely difficult these past few days.
They rode in the common people's oxcarts, slept in dilapidated temples on the outskirts of the city, and climbed mountains on their own two legs. The water was frozen and unusable, but the weather was really unbearable. Lingyi had been coughing for a few days and her feet were covered with blisters, but she didn't utter a sound and kept going.
Finally, they left Ningzhou and arrived in Junzhou. They made contact with their spies there, who sent them a carriage.
Xie Sanniang sighed, "Originally, we didn't have to go through all this trouble. We have people in every prefecture. But last time I was exposed, Qin Lie wiped out almost all of our people north of Ningzhou, so we had no choice but to live a life of hardship."
Lingyi suggested, "The carriage is too slow, and things might go wrong if we wait too long. Why don't we ride back on horseback?"
Xie San Niang asked, "You can ride a horse? Young master didn't mention that."
Lingyi said, "I am not very good at riding myself, but I should have no problem riding with you."
Xie San Niang then unloaded the carriage, put on the saddle, and the two rode together towards the capital.
As they traveled, Lingyi realized how overconfident she had been. Her so-called riding skills were nothing more than sitting and strolling on horseback. Now, even clinging to Xie Sanniang's waist while being jostled around on horseback, she was barely able to keep up. By the end of the day, her thighs were chafed raw and bleeding.
She forced herself not to reveal a word to Xie Sanniang. That evening, Xie Sanniang asked, "Can you handle it? If it's alright, I'll go even faster tomorrow."
Lingyi gritted her teeth and said, "I can hold on."
Xie San Niang said, "Alright, go to sleep early, we have to travel early tomorrow morning."
Lingyi hummed in agreement, and the two went to bed.
In the middle of the night, a local scout came to report that a group of people had come from the direction of Jizhou and had entered Junzhou territory by dusk.
The two looked at each other, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
Although they might not be coming for her, the two of them still dared not be careless and immediately got up, mounted their horses, and left.
Junzhou has an estuary to the east, where ships are already waiting to pick you up. Once on board, you can go directly to Jinzhou.
Even if the Prince of Dingbei personally led his troops to pursue them, they would be far behind.
They continued their journey until dawn, then plunged down the mountain. They would reach their destination in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after rounding the bend.
Just then, the two heard the sound of horses' hooves behind them.
Without turning around, Lingyi knew who it was, because arrows flew past her ears one after another. One arrow might have missed, but the next two were so accurate that she knew it was intentional.
To be able to hit the target so accurately while riding at such a high speed, no one but Qin Lie could possibly be the only one who could do it.
This is a threat, and also an obstacle.
She didn't turn around, but hugged Xie San Niang even tighter, hoping the horse could go faster, even faster.
Finally, they turned a corner and saw a large ship docked at the shore, with a person standing on it, wearing a fox fur cloak, tall and slender, with a jade crown and a white face.
Xie San Niang exclaimed with delight, "It's the young master! The young master has arrived!"
Lingyi looked up and saw Xie Yu's blurry face.
It has only been a little over a year since I last saw him, but it feels like half a lifetime has passed.
Qin Lie and the others behind them also turned the corner and reined in their horses to stop there. This was because the row of archers behind Xie Yu on the ship had a very long range with their specially made steel bows, and the next step would be within their range.
Qin Lie's face was ashen as he watched Ling Yi grow ever more distant, heading towards Xie Yu's direction.
Without hesitation, he nocked another arrow and aimed it directly at his neck.
At this distance, even with his eyes closed, he could shoot her through the throat.
Princess Yongjia, the daughter of his enemy and his nominal wife, brought him the greatest humiliation.
First she seduced her subordinates into running away, and now she's going to her old lover's side.
What a slut! She deserves to die!
"Whoosh!" The arrow whistled, and Lingyi fell off his horse and into the dust by the roadside.
The fall was so short, so short that she didn't even have time to feel the pain, yet it also seemed so long, so long that she felt like she was having a long dream.
In her dream, she was still a child. A beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes held her as they sat under a tree, waiting for someone who would never return. She knew this person was her mother, but she had forgotten what her mother looked like. She only remembered that her mother later died under the tree and was carried away by palace servants, leaving only the tree. She sat in the same spot, as if by doing so, she could return to the time when her mother was still alive.
She dreamt of her elder brother, the Crown Prince, getting married. Aunt Liu Cui said that after the Crown Prince had a Crown Princess, they would be his closest relatives, and advised her to avoid bothering him at the Eastern Palace. Lingyi was uneasy and worried, not understanding why people had to get married, and why the Crown Princess had to leave her home of so long to come to the Eastern Palace, abandoning her original family to be close to someone else. She didn't want to get married; she wanted to stay with Aunt Liu Cui, her elder brother, her fifteenth sister, her sixteenth sister, and Xie Yu forever, never to be separated.
Xie Yu laughed at her naivety, saying that no one doesn't get married. Even if she didn't get married, others would still get married and then separate.
She pressed on, asking why people have to get married? Are there things that can't be done before marriage but can only be done after marriage?
Xie Jiayu blushed, a rare occurrence for him, and it took him a long time to come up with a brilliant metaphor.
"You are like a flower bud about to bloom. You will only blossom and bear fruit after you get married and go to someone else's home."
Lingyi replied, "Then I don't want to be a flower bud, I want to be a tree! I can stay in one place and bloom and bear fruit!"
They were all wrong.
She is not a flower, nor can she bear fruit.
She was just a leaf; a careless gust of wind was enough to send her drifting lightly into the mud.
.
This operation involved raising military tallies, deploying spies, and pursuing the enemy for thousands of miles—a truly grand undertaking.
When Qin Lie returned to Jizhou, Qin Fu was waiting at the city gate of the prefecture, "inviting" him to return to the palace immediately.
"The person has been brought back?" The princess asked calmly, her eyes closed as she twirled her prayer beads.
Qin Lie said, "My son came back first; she's still on her way."
The princess opened her eyes. "Before, I thought that although she had Liu family blood in her veins, she was an innocent person, and I could just let her stay and take care of her. Now that she wants to leave, why not grant her wish? Since she's still on her way, she might as well not come back."
Qin Lie said, "She is seriously injured. With the outside world in chaos, she can only recuperate properly in Jizhou."
With a flick of her wrist, the princess sent the Buddhist prayer beads crashing into Qin Lie's face. He neither dodged nor avoided the blow.
The princess retorted angrily, "If she hadn't run away, how could she have been injured? How much blood debt does her father owe us? Do I have to worry about whether she needs to recuperate?! Qin Lie, do you even remember how your elder brother died? Do you even remember that you are a member of the Qin family?!"
Qin Lie said, "Your son has never forgotten!"
The princess's anger flared even more: "So you're blinded by lust and can't bear to part with her?"
Qin Lie knelt down, "I swear, I have never had the slightest affection for her."
The princess asked, "If that's the case, then why did you insist on bringing her back?"
Qin Lie said, "In the capital, in order to lull the court into a false sense of security and hasten the return of Ji, I consummated our marriage. Although she is not a member of the Qin family, she is truly my woman. Since she is my woman, I cannot stand by and watch her die, nor can I allow her to return to the capital and marry someone else to humiliate me."
The princess knew her son's temperament better than anyone.
The old general named him Lie because he was as fiery as fire.
Extremely protective of their own, yet intolerant of even the slightest injustice.
That was something he was capable of doing, and the princess immediately felt much more at ease, but still asked with concern, "Is it really just because of this?"
Qin Lie said, "Mother knows, my heart has always belonged only to Hui Niang."
The princess felt a pang of sadness when she mentioned her third daughter-in-law, who had passed away at a young age.
She remembered how respectful Qin Lie was to his wife. Even when he was at his most reckless, he rarely listened to his grandmother, but when Hui Niang spoke, he rarely lied or argued back.
Even after Hui Niang passed away, Qin Lie's treatment of the Cheng family has only increased over the years, demonstrating his deep affection.
Not to mention Qin Lie, even she had to admit that, despite her second daughter-in-law being her own niece, she still liked Hui Niang more.
The princess's eyes welled up with tears: "Mother also often thinks of Hui Niang. When she was alive, she would come and talk to me every day, and every month she would copy a scroll of scripture for me to offer before the Buddha. It's such a pity..."
She wiped away her tears, didn't continue, and then returned to the princess: "I'll let it go this time, but you must promise me that you will never see the princess again."
"Mother, please rest assured." Qin Lie's eyes fell on the Buddha statue, and he said slowly, "Your son will never see her again."
They can't let them go, and they can't kill them either.
He wanted to see her less than anyone else in the world.
.
Lingyi returned to the princess's residence ten days later. By then, the wounds on her thighs and feet had scabbed over and were ready to fall off.
Although Qin Lie broke the arrowhead and it was aimed at his shoulder, the arrow that struck his shoulder, while not life-threatening, still injured his lungs. Today, in the freezing cold, the fire burning brightly indoors helps, but let alone going to the courtyard, even standing by the window and breathing causes him a dull ache.
A female guard named Qin Xiaohu returned with her.
It is said that she is highly skilled in martial arts. Lingyi has never seen her make a move, but she knows that she is of high status because she heard her giving orders to those people as soon as she returned to the princess's residence.
"Listen carefully: No one is allowed to enter or leave the inner courtyard. Anyone who violates this rule will be executed!"
"Mind your own business. If anyone dares to look at you, say a word, or take a step further, kill them without mercy!"
She took care of him throughout the journey, changing his clothes and medication.
Back at the princess's residence, she still stayed almost constantly by Lingyi's side. Even though Lingyi took a long time to bathe, she could see Lingyi standing silently to the side, holding her sword.
The palace servants were terrified at the sight of her, and the princess's residence was deathly silent all day long.
The plum tree that was moved into the mansion the year before last did not bloom last year, but it burst into bloom overnight this year. However, no one in the mansion was in the mood to appreciate it.
A single pearl might be occasionally broken off and placed in a vase by the window, but it could not brighten the gloom of the entire mansion.
More than half a month passed, and Lingyi's injuries improved considerably, allowing her to occasionally stand in the courtyard.
As the new year approached, she, as usual, had wine and dishes prepared to bid farewell to the old year.
With Qin Xiaohu standing to the side holding his sword, he forced a smile and ate without tasting anything.
Lingyi didn't mind. She raised her wine glass and smiled, "Since the day I left the palace, I have been taken care of by you all. This glass of wine is my way of thanking you. But all good things must come to an end. I hope that after you leave, you will not encounter a useless master like me again, and that you will live a peaceful and prosperous life."
Everyone was stunned for a moment. After a while, Li De, Granny Zhao, Mingzhu and others knelt down to express their loyalty and said that they would never forget the princess's great kindness.
After they finished speaking, Lingyi said, "I know you all have your own backgrounds, but the Princess's residence is already in such a state, with no future. Staying here is useless. You can still hold on for now, but in the future, you won't even have the court's salary, and you don't even know how you'll survive." She looked at Pearl and the others, "Especially you, you are all in the prime of your youth. While I can still plan for you, if you don't leave now, you may never have such an opportunity again. Are you willing to waste your whole lives here?"
Several young palace maids looked at each other, trying to see the same resentment in each other's eyes.
They still have so many years to live, who would be willing to grow old and die in the mansion?
Lingyi gestured to Qiu Min, who then had someone bring over the prepared boxes, which were full of things Qin Lie had given her before.
"As your servants, this is a gift for your travel expenses. When you leave, you don't need to say goodbye. Just take the gift and you can leave the manor until noon tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, she got up and left without looking at anyone.
She had only drunk two glasses of light wine when she started coughing again that night. Although it wasn't life-threatening, it was intermittent, and she couldn't get a good night's sleep.
Qin Xiaohu stood by the window with his sword in his arms, watching people carrying luggage come to the room, kneel down and kowtow, and then silently turn and leave.
Lingyi woke up late and deliberately waited in her room until after noon before getting up. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Granny Zhao, Li De, and Pearl standing outside, and two eunuchs standing in the courtyard.
She was somewhat surprised and asked, "Why didn't you leave?"
Granny Zhao sighed deliberately, "This old servant was Consort Guo's person, but now that she has run away, there is no use for this old servant to go back. As long as the princess doesn't find this old servant an eyesore, this old servant will shamelessly eat at the princess's residence for a few more years."
Li De said, "I am a rootless person. I can't marry and have children if I go out. It's better to stay in the princess's mansion where I can live a carefree life. Those two are my adopted sons. Although they are clumsy, they are honest and can be used to some extent."
Pearl's eyes were red, and her voice choked with sobs: "I...I can't bear to part with the princess!"
Lingyi also felt envious. After composing herself, she bowed to them and said, "I will trouble you to take care of me from now on."
I thought it would be tough with so few people, but a few days later, about ten boys and girls aged eight or nine were brought in. They were all well-trained, knew the rules, were observant, and were all good at working.
A few days later, not only did Li De and the others receive their monthly allowances, but the Prince's Mansion's monthly subsidies were also being delivered on time. However, now that everything was being sent from outside, they had nowhere to spend their money, so having silver was useless.
Li De became smug again, "Back then I advised them not to leave, but they all wouldn't listen. They're all rootless. No matter how hard they work, isn't it all so they won't be left without support in their old age? If your Grandpa Li doesn't leave, the princess will take care of him in his old age, and his godson will see him off in his final days!"
Granny Zhao still disliked him: "Keep your voice down, who knows if the prince consort has simply forgotten!"
These days, with only a few elderly people left in the Princess's residence, things are much more comfortable and peaceful. Li De laughed, "It's good to forget about us. It would be best if you could forget about us for the rest of your life!"
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