Chapter 47
Five miles outside the post station is the largest river in Tongcheng, Longquan River.
In the coldest days of winter, the frost and snow on both sides of the river are crystal clear, but the inky black river water is like a winding silk ribbon, flowing slowly into the distance.
There's a saying in Tongcheng that the Longquan River connects directly to the underworld, transporting the souls of the dead year-round, and that's why it never freezes. Even in summer, few locals dare to swim in the river.
When Wei Zhi caught up, he saw Zhao Congyun reining in his horse and standing by the river, as if waiting for him deliberately, and he was suddenly startled.
He looked around cautiously, wondering if Zhao Congyun had set an ambush here, but he saw Zhao Congyun jump off the horse, pat the horse's back, and the horse left alone.
"Don't be nervous, General Wei. It's just you and me here."
Wei Zhi did not dare to be careless: "Your Highness, what is your intention in bringing me here?"
"I have a small guess, and I've come here to verify it." Zhao Congyun held his sword upside down. "Is General Wei afraid?"
Wei Zhi's face looked grim.
Zhao Congyun slowly spoke, "A friend told me that General Wei grew up near a river and drowned once. Later, your father was promoted, and the whole family moved to the capital, settling in Jiying Lane."
"My friend doesn't know much about the layout of the capital, so he didn't see anything. But I'm wondering, given General Wei's family background, why did he choose a small alley in the city instead of the mansion recommended by the government by Jade Lake?"
He raised his eyebrows and said, "What's even more interesting is that you later led troops in battle for many years and only suffered one defeat, which was at Sishui."
These messages were written to him by Yue Mingming before he left.
At that time, Wei Zhi's identity was unknown, and Yue Mingming could not find any problems using the Bagua system, so he had to write a bunch of nonsense. Unexpectedly, Zhao Congyun found a flaw in it.
"So I boldly speculate that General Wei seems to be afraid of water...I wonder if it's true or not?"
Wei Zhi's face was gloomy. "Even if I'm afraid of water, so what? Your Highness thinks we can win by finding a river?"
Zhao Congyun: "How can you know if you don't try it?"
Wei Zhi sat upright and looked down at him coldly. Suddenly, he asked, "The 'friend' that the prince mentioned is Madam Yue, right? The prince really loves her. For such a big matter, he didn't even inform Lord Li in advance, but sent her away."
"That day when she came to my room to steal the list, I could tell this young lady was no ordinary lady! Unfortunately, in order to conceal her identity, I had to let her go. Otherwise..." He smiled playfully, "Does Your Highness think that she can escape from our grasp no matter how far away she is?"
A layer of frost instantly covered Zhao Congyun's brow. Wei Zhi saw it and became even more proud. "I have been loyal to my country for many years and have never married. When the prince passes away, leaving such a pretty and clever young lady as a widow is really unbearable. When the time comes, I will definitely find her and keep her in the palace to cherish her well. What do you think?"
"Wei Zhi!" Zhao Congyun shouted angrily, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "You have given me a reason to kill you!"
Wei Zhi said "I couldn't ask for more", jumped off his horse, and actually took the initiative to attack!
Zhao Congyun showed no sign of weakness and rushed forward with his sword. Unlike the way he fought and retreated at the post station, he pressed forward step by step, swinging his sword tightly and impenetrably.
Wei Zhi sighed, "I can't believe you're holding back! You're the first person to hide your strength from my Sixteen Breaking Army Techniques!"
"But what a pity..."
As soon as he said this, he suddenly reversed the blade, sliding it down along Zhao Congyun's hilt and fiercely slicing Zhao Congyun's right hand. Zhao Congyun flicked his wrist, and the sword went straight for Wei Zhi's neck, but he didn't expect Wei Zhi's previous move to be a feint. By the time Zhao Congyun reacted, the long sword had already plunged into his ribs!
This knife is unavoidable!
So Zhao Congyun did not dodge!
The sharp blade pierced the white clothes, splashing blood red. Zhao Congyun groaned, his face pale, and he stared at Wei Zhi with a deep and unfathomable gaze.
Wei Zhi was slightly stunned, then he saw Zhao Congyun curl up the corners of his lips and smile.
After just a few rounds, the two of them had been moving back and forth, their positions intertwined, and somehow they had already reached the shore. Wei Zhi believed that this was Zhao Congyun's deliberate act. A vague thought flashed through his mind, but he couldn't believe it -
Did he get stabbed on purpose?!
Thinking of this, he hurriedly drew his knife and tried to step back, but found that the knife was stuck somehow!
That was his Wei family's heirloom sword, and he would never let it go easily. In a panic, Wei Zhi pulled and twisted the blade, and the sound of flesh and blood breaking could be heard from the blade. Zhao Congyun's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he sneered hoarsely: "Don't waste your energy! General Wei, go to the underworld and apologize to your ancestors!"
"What did you say..." Before Wei Zhi could finish his words, he saw Zhao Congyun pinching his arms holding the knife, and he and the knife rolled into the river together!
The river water was icy cold. The moment Zhao Congyun entered the water, he felt excruciating pain all over his body, as if thousands of steel needles were piercing his body.
As he expected, Wei Zhi was afraid of water. In his desperate struggle, he no longer cared about the enemy or himself, but treated him as a life-saving straw and clung to him tightly.
But Zhao Congyun didn't go into the water to save people; he came to take Wei Zhi's life. Now that his goal was achieved, he simply closed his eyes, without dodging or avoiding, and fell deeper into the water.
After an unknown amount of time, the pain in his body began to subside. Zhao Congyun felt as if time had frozen, and everything around him slowed down and drifted away along with his consciousness.
In a trance, someone gently patted his cheek.
Zhao Congyun immediately realized who it was and couldn't wait to open his eyes.
Meeting another pair of bright eyes.
God has mercy on her, she is the one he has been thinking about most.
He could no longer tell whether this was reality or an illusion. For a moment, he felt both satisfied and unwilling. Many of his heartfelt words were about to rot in the water before he had the chance to say them.
He picked up the three words that weighed deeply on his heart, feeling the need to tell her. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood before being choked by the icy river water that poured in. His fragile lungs finally gave way, and Zhao Congyun's body went into a suffocating spasm. A second before he fainted, he felt a soft kiss on his lips.
The nerves that had been tense for many days finally relaxed.
He thought to himself that even if it was hell, he would be happy with it.
*
When he was fifteen years old, Zhao Congyun and Li Si had not yet fallen out, and they were studying together in Mr. Zhou's school. One was smart and knowledgeable, the other was diligent and honest, and both were Mr. Zhou's favorite students.
One day, while chatting after class, the teacher saw that they were the same age as the young Mu Ai, so he jokingly asked what kind of love they longed for. Li Si blurted out, "Of course it must be as unforgettable as 'Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; except for the clouds of Wushan, all other mountains are but mounds.'"
Mr. Zhou smiled slightly: "It suits your personality."
He turned to another beloved disciple and asked, "What about you?"
Zhao Congyun thought silently for a moment: "What I want is nothing more than 'When will we cut the candle in the west window together and talk about the night rain in Bashan?'"
Mr. Zhou had never expected that a prince like him would yearn for such a simple and ordinary love. Then, thinking of the story of Zhao Congyun's mother, he understood a little: "...Teacher, I wish that in the future there will be someone to talk with you by candlelight in the rainy nights and by the west window."
Later, Mr. Zhou passed away and the school was closed. Zhao Congyun indulged in depravity and began to indulge in brothels all day long. He also became enemies with his former classmates... He never thought about what his teacher said back then again.
After all, even he himself didn't dare to take it seriously.
But many years later, when he woke up and opened his eyes, he saw Yue Mingming sitting by the window with his chin in his hand, cutting lantern flowers out of boredom. The poem suddenly rolled through his mind like thunder, knocking down the door of his memory, and the past poured out.
His eyes felt hot and he turned his face away quietly. Unexpectedly, this simple action caused him to hiss in pain.
Yue Mingming was immediately startled. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Congyun's moist eyes and was slightly startled: Is this... crying in pain?
She rushed over frantically: "You... you have too many wounds on your body... I know it must be painful, but you must not move! The butcher said that if the wound on the ribs breaks open and the bleeding can't be stopped, it will be fatal!"
Even though Zhao Congyun was full of thoughts, he couldn't help but choke: "...butcher?"
Yue Mingming said, "We were swept downstream by the river. Luckily, a butcher passed by and kindly took us home. He even struggled to pull the knife out from between your ribs!"
She added, "You're lucky! Firstly, the river water was too cold, which slowed the bleeding. Secondly, the butcher has been slaughtering pigs for years and is familiar with the knife placement. Otherwise, you would be dead by now!"
Zhao Congyun: …………
Yue Mingming lowered his voice again: "Don't worry, I checked underwater, and Wei Zhi is dead. There's no news from Uncle Dong yet, but when I left the post station, they were already cleaning up the enemy, so it should be fine... You were unconscious for a whole day, and I didn't dare leave. I don't know how to send a message to Uncle Dong, but I remember he has some ability to find people, so he should be able to find us soon!"
Zhao Congyun listened to her silently, his eyelashes trembling, and he only asked one question: "...Why did you come back?"
Yue Mingming was a little slow to react, and realized belatedly that he was asking why he came back after being sent away.
"...Of course I'm worried about you guys!"
Yue Mingming didn't understand such an obvious answer, so why didn't Zhao Congyun understand? He deeply suspected that he was crazy, so he teased him, "...repent now, don't you? You know you can't leave me now? You always want to get rid of me. If I don't come back this time, what will you do?"
"You're always like this... If you continue like this, I'll really be inseparable from you." Zhao Congyun's voice was very soft, almost muttering to himself.
The candlelight crackled a few times, and the two fell silent. Zhao Congyun thought of their near-death separation in the water and felt he shouldn't hesitate to express his feelings. He should say something, but he was afraid that if he didn't make it clear, it would only add to Yue Mingming's pressure.
He raised his eyes and looked at her deeply, seeing how hard she was thinking, and decided to give up.
In the rainy night, under the candlelight, they chatted by the western window. He had obtained everything he had asked for. If he were to dwell on the vague future, constantly worrying about whether she would stay or leave, wouldn't he be betraying his teacher's sincere wishes?
Thinking of this, Zhao Congyun raised his hand slightly. Yue Mingming was afraid that he would hurt the wound, so he quickly held it: "What are you doing? Don't commit suicide!"
Zhao Congyun laughed angrily: "I heard that when you were sick, Ah Nian brought you tea and water. Now it's your turn to serve the patient, and you won't even give him a sip of tea?"
Yue Mingming blushed: "Oh, sorry, I forgot!" She wanted to pull her hand back to get some water, but Zhao Congyun refused to let go.
Yue Mingming: "...Do you want to drink or not?"
Zhao Congyun pointed at her with his eyes: "Isn't there another hand?"
Yue Mingming was deeply shocked, but at the same time, her heart gradually settled down. Her prince had acted like a rogue, and it looked like he wouldn't die.
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