Chapter 16
Zhao Congyun had broad shoulders and walked very steadily. Yue Mingming gradually relaxed and felt a sense of security that he had never felt before.
This guy... isn't completely useless. As a human transportation tool, he's quite qualified!
Yue Mingming thought to himself and chuckled.
Zhao Congyun paused beneath him: "What are you laughing at?"
"No! You heard wrong!" Yue Mingming defended himself. Zhao Congyun didn't delve into it. He continued walking in silence for a while, then suddenly asked, "Why aren't you talking?"
"Ah?" Yue Mingming was unsure of what he meant. Was Boss hinting at her to reflect on herself, or asking for a chat companionship service?
"Nothing." Zhao Congyun said lightly.
…
Yue Mingming was still on the other person's back, so he had to lower his head and had to bite the bullet and make small talk.
After much thought, he finally remembered something to talk about: "Your Highness, what is that piece of music you like, 'Farewell to the Changting'? Can you hum it for me?"
Zhao Congyun suddenly stopped and turned his head slightly: "How do you know I like that song?"
Yue Mingming couldn't answer.
She panicked and simply turned the tables: "Look at you, you're overthinking it again... and you're blaming me for not saying anything. Every time I say something, you always have a bunch of questions waiting for me! Who would want to talk to you like this?"
“…” Zhao Congyun remained silent, and the aura around him quickly turned cold.
Yue Mingming felt his back stiffen noticeably, and his whole body turned back into a vigilant human-shaped ice cube.
Cold, hard, and indescribably uncomfortable.
Yue Mingming realized he had said something wrong and apologized: "I'm sorry...that's not what I meant."
"Oh," Zhao Congyun smiled coldly, "No need to say more, your meaning has been made clear."
Yue Mingming was stunned. This ice cube is quite hard to coax!
"In my...hometown, there's a song with a similar name. It's very nice. Since you're too stingy to sing it, I can reluctantly sing it for you."
Yue Mingming lay on his back and tried hard to put on a smile.
Zhao Congyun ignored her.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Yue Mingming smiled awkwardly and began to sing softly to himself: "Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the green grass stretches to the sky..."
The girl's singing voice was naturally not as good as the singer of Yaoyue Tower, but it had a unique, unpretentious, innocent and melodious quality. The sound of her voice penetrated Zhao Congyun's ears, making his soul numb.
The slightly sad lyrics, like an airtight spell, entangled tighter and tighter in his heart, causing him to feel a sense of loss that he could not stop no matter how hard he tried.
Let’s drink up the remaining joy, and don’t dream of the cold tonight.
Yue Mingming felt the tension in his shoulders gradually soften, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he wondered: Is my room so far from the secret room? Why haven't I arrived yet?
She looked around and immediately realized: "Hey, you... why are you still taking a detour?!"
This was the first time she had encountered a humanoid black car driver!
Zhao Congyun explained perfunctorily, "Oh...I got the wrong way."
"This is your home... Can't you be a little sincere when you lie?" Yue Mingming said angrily.
"Why don't you sing anymore? Continue." Zhao Congyun asked without blushing.
"Shameless! I won't sing anymore!"
"Sing!"
"No!"
"Sing!"
...Yue Mingming couldn't believe that Zhao Congyun was so childish as to pester her all the way.
He was in a very good mood when he left. Yue Mingming even had the illusion that he saw a fox tail sticking up behind him, just like a dog that had been praised.
*
In the next few days, Yue Mingming recuperated in the garden and never saw Zhao Congyun again.
Su Dingrou was still under house arrest in Chenghuaizhai. It was said that after she was brought back to the mansion that day, she spoke coldly to Zhao Congyun and was very rude.
The real purpose is revealed... Now that the matter has been discovered, Su Dingrou is too lazy to pretend.
Yue Mingming couldn't help but worry about the situation of his sister, the princess.
Zhao Congyun is now busy with the canal transportation affairs, and he will definitely settle the score after this matter is settled.
Yue Mingming secretly made up his mind that he had to find a way to help them divorce quickly, otherwise if these two stubborn and proud people fought each other, plus Shen Zongwu who would go crazy for love at any time, someone might die.
As a result, Yue Mingming was so frustrated and had no clue what to do that she simply took out the divorce letter Zhao Congyun wrote to her and seriously considered the possibility of forging a copy.
She was concentrating on writing her signature on a piece of thin paper, and she didn't even notice someone approaching.
"Ahem..." Xing'er couldn't help but remind her.
Yue Mingming looked up blankly and met Zhao Congyun's dark eyes. She was so scared that she quickly hid the divorce letter in her sleeve.
Surprisingly, Zhao Congyun did not expose her.
He glanced at her cuffs, stopped as if nothing had happened, and said nothing.
"You...why are you here?" Yue Mingming was still in shock and stammered.
"Sun Cheng and his son want to see you."
"Why?" Yue Mingming was stunned and looked at the dark night outside the window: "Now?"
Zhao Congyun: "They want to thank you. Tomorrow morning, Sun Cheng will leave the capital. His father will surrender to the Ministry of Justice with evidence related to the grain transport incident."
Yue Mingming was shocked: "Doesn't that mean..."
Separation of life and death.
Zhao Congyun lowered his eyes and remained silent.
Yue Mingming no longer hesitated, stood up and said, "Let's go."
Zhao Congyun didn't move, but stood there and looked at her quietly, as if asking something with his eyes.
Yue Mingming felt warm in his heart and patted his chest: "I'm fine, but I dare not trouble Your Majesty to carry me again."
"Let's go." Zhao Congyun said lightly.
*
When he saw Sun Cheng again, Yue Mingming finally felt relieved.
Zhao Congyun kept his promise and found someone to heal his wounds. Compared with the last time when he looked like a blood gourd, although Sun Cheng looked thinner, he no longer looked embarrassed.
He sat in a corner of the dark hall, no longer treated as a prisoner, but the young man's dark and cold face was still filled with lifeless despair.
Next to him sat an old man, thin and simple. At first glance, he looked no different from a farmer in the fields, and was completely different from the bandit leader Yue Mingming had imagined.
But if you look closely, you can see in the old man's every move a calm demeanor that disregards life and death, which makes people inexplicably admire him.
This is Sun Cheng’s father, Sun Dayong.
The two men immediately stood up when they saw Yue Mingming. Sun Dayong clasped his fists and said, "I heard that I, an unfilial son, couldn't distinguish right from wrong that day and seriously injured you. I apologize to you!"
After saying that, he bowed deeply. Sun Cheng looked gloomy, but he also bowed like his father.
Yue Mingming quickly stopped him, saying, "It's okay! Look, I'm fine now! Besides, you're all working for the canal and the people... We all have the same goal, so since we're all in this together, there's no need to worry too much!"
Accomplice... Zhao Congyun frowned slightly when he heard this, but a smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
Sun Dayong laughed heartily and said, "Although you are a noble lady from a wealthy family, you have the spirit of a chivalrous man! There is a saying that goes 'No fight, no friendship'. I will make friends with you, little friend!"
He ignored Zhao Congyun's presence and took off a white jade seal from his neck: "Girl, take this! In the future, if you need the Jiangzhou Cao Gang, just bring this seal and I'll send you orders!"
"This is a token of your gang. It's not appropriate to give it to her." Zhao Congyun suddenly interrupted.
Sun Dayong gave him a sharp look, then turned to Yue Mingming and continued, "You saved my father and me, so this is nothing to repay us... Sun Cheng told me about your father's affairs. I guess you don't have many relatives from your mother's side. I don't have any daughters, only a useless boy. If you don't mind us Jianghu people being rude and unpresentable, you can treat us as your own family. If anyone bullies you in the future, the Jiangzhou Cao Gang will back you up."
Yue Mingming opened her eyes wide, feeling touched but also worried - it was obvious that Sun Dayong's words were not only directed at her, but also at Zhao Congyun.
She glanced at Zhao Congyun secretly, but saw that his face was calm and she could not tell whether he was happy or angry.
"Why are you looking at him? Take it!" said Sun Dayong.
Yue Mingming no longer hesitated, happily took it, and immediately put it around his neck: "Thank you, uncle!"
After a pause, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is your Cao Gang...very powerful? Are there many people?"
Zhao Congyun: …………
Sun Cheng: …………
Sun Dayong smiled and said, "Jiangzhou has three rivers and twelve lakes. Wherever there is water, there is our Cao Gang... But," he glanced back at his son, "whether he will be powerful in the future depends on him!"
Sun Cheng's eyes immediately turned red, and he muttered, "Dad!"
Sun Dayong said, "I don't ask you to be very successful. As long as you are worthy of the people of Jiangzhou and the brothers in the gang! As for the rest... you can decide for yourself."
"You must remember, even though we were born as bandits, our hearts must not become crooked... If you give in to temptation and do something vile and filthy in the future, I will come after you even if I become a ghost!"
Sun Cheng wiped his face fiercely: "Got it!"
Yue Mingming's joy at receiving the seal was immediately wiped out by Sun Dayong's "instructions".
She looked at Zhao Congyun for help: "Is there no other way? There is so much evidence, and the assassin you captured... Why do you have to surrender yourself?"
Zhao Congyun hesitated for a rare moment.
Sun Dayong answered for him, "That's right. The physical evidence and the assassin are like two threads. If we keep unraveling them, we'll eventually uncover the truth... It's just too late!
"The issue of the grain transport isn't just about corruption; it also involves the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jiangzhou disaster victims! Every day of delay will cause more people to starve to death. We can afford to wait, but they can't!"
He said proudly, "Your Highness has thought of many solutions for me these past few days, but there aren't so many things in this world that can achieve both... Hesitation and procrastination are not what a real man does! This old man's life was born and raised in Jiangzhou. Now that I am going back, I will not let my fellow villagers down. It will be a good death that is worthy of me!"
These words were so powerful that they caused a moment of silence in the secret room.
Yue Mingming's eyes were hot and his blood was boiling, but he felt helpless. Sun Cheng hung his head, his shoulders shrugged, and even his crying was silent.
Zhao Congyun slowly added, "I'm not in a position to intervene in this matter, but rest assured, the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Censorate have already taken care of everything. They won't torture or mistreat you. At the very least, they can ensure... that you leave with dignity."
After a pause, he added, "If you wish to be buried in your hometown, I will arrange that."
Sun Dayong shook his head: "Why bother! When the time comes, wrap the body in a straw mat and throw it into a mass grave. Among the wandering ghosts, I can fight for the position of gang leader again. Wouldn't that be a happy life?"
Yue Mingming was deeply shocked. Zhao Congyun, who always held himself in high esteem, straightened his robes solemnly and bowed deeply. "Your elder has a heart of righteousness that I admire and yet humble myself to. No need to say more. I pledge my life to you to ensure the smooth transport of grain and to relieve the plight of the Jiangzhou disaster victims!"
Sun Dayong nodded, his eyes gleaming with approval. "Everyone says that Prince Jia is uneducated and a top-notch playboy in the capital, but they never thought you were such a person... I believe in you."
He said to Sun Cheng, "You must return to Jiangzhou tomorrow and lend a hand to the prince when he needs you. Do you understand?"
Sun Cheng turned his head away without answering.
Yue Mingming thought he was still angry with Zhao Congyun, but he heard Sun Dayong scolding him angrily: "Little bastard, are you still thinking about that medicine? I tell you, take care of the living, it's none of your business to worry about the dead!"
Sun Cheng said stubbornly, "As long as there's even a sliver of hope, I'll give it a try! Don't try to stop me!"
Yue Mingming looked bewildered: "What are you talking about? Is there any way to solve the old man's problem?"
Zhao Congyun explained, "It's rumored that the Medicine Sage of the previous dynasty, in addition to the Lingxi Pill, also created a 'Resurrection Pill'. After a person takes it, they will lose all their breath within three days, but will be able to revive after three days."
Yue Mingming immediately understood: "Let the old man surrender himself, take this pill, fake his death and deceive the Ministry of Justice, and he will be spared from beheading!"
"That's right. Unfortunately, Lingxi Pills are worth a fortune, and Huanyang Pills are not only priceless, but have never appeared on the market. They are only recorded in some secret books, and it is unknown whether they really exist. In this vast world, where can we find them?"
Yue Mingming's heart skipped a beat.
...Is that what she thought?
She trembled slightly as she spoke, "Do you know what the Yang-Returning Pill looks like?"
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