Chapter 130 Leaving the Capital (Part Fourteen) Jump out of the window! ...
Before long, the boat docked at the riverbank. Jiuli wiped away her tears with her sleeve, turned her back to the edge of the bed, bent down, and took Du Zhong's arm and put it on her shoulders. Just as she was about to lift him up, Xu Bai took one of Du Zhong's arms off her and whispered, "It's too late."
Jiuli's heart skipped a beat. She turned to look at him, but didn't say anything, still blankly carrying Du Zhong on her back.
Seeing her blank movements, Xu Bai had no choice but to say, "I'll carry it."
She acted as if she hadn't heard, and just struggled to carry Du Zhong out of the cabin. Xiu Zhi remained where she was, staring blankly at the blood Du Zhong had vomited on the bed and floor. She seemed to have lost her soul, her body like a puppet, as Jiu Li bumped into her and ran out the door.
Jiuli, who had always been pampered and unable to lift a finger, suddenly found strength from who knows where and carried Du Zhong across the river. His brows furrowed in a mess as he looked around. In the distance, all he could see were bare rice paddies and four or five scattered houses behind them.
"Maybe those families have the medicine," she murmured, turning to look at Du Zhong.
His head was slumped on her shoulder; he didn't have the strength to lift it, even if he wanted to. His eyes were half-closed, and he could only look at her. When he opened his mouth, a mouthful of red teeth was visible. "Fish, it hurts so much—"
Blood dripped from his lips, soaking her clothes at the chest. She smiled but tears streamed down her face, her voice hoarse. "So you're afraid of pain too. You used to always act like a hero in front of me."
After a while of silence, she turned her head and saw him smiling, but his brows were furrowed. Terrified, she quickly shook her shoulders. "Don't sleep! I'll take you to find medicine! If you fall asleep, you won't wake up!"
He strained to open his eyelids wider and murmured with a smile, "I won't sleep, I won't sleep—it's rare for you to carry me on your back, I can't bear to sleep."
She found it amusing, recalling their childhood. He was a few months younger than her, but he was much stronger, and he was always the one carrying her. She eagerly wanted to be the older sister, but she couldn't pull it off at all. What kind of older sister would be so domineering and bossy?
"I promise I won't argue with you anymore. I'll give in to you from now on, okay?" As soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her face. Her voice was mixed with the howling cold wind, and she couldn't even hear herself. She thought he hadn't heard her either, which was why he hadn't replied.
She couldn't look at him anymore! She couldn't afford to waste even a glance at the moment. She gritted her teeth and ran along the ridge to the houses at the foot of the mountain on the other side.
Suddenly, Xu Bai shouted from the shore, "Fish!"
Jiuli couldn't hear anything; the howling, cold wind filled her ears, sweeping through her heart. She didn't feel cold; instead, she was sweating profusely. The rice paddies were littered with rice stalks, cut down to mere inches long, now like cold brass nails driven into the earth. She felt the weight on her back growing heavier, almost breaking her back, and her steps became increasingly difficult. The houses at the foot of the mountain remained unmoved in the distance, seemingly forever out of reach.
Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he fell straight to the side. The world spun around him, and he crashed into a haystack in the field.
In an instant, all was silent. She opened her mouth, but her voice was hoarse and weak; she could only hear her own rapid breathing. Turning her head to the side, she saw Du Zhong lying motionless beside her, his eyes closed, his pale face covered with mottled bloodstains.
When they were little, they would pick wild berries from the grass on the hillside and eat them. Eating too many of those berries made them feel intoxicated, and the two of them would collapse on the grass, unable to walk. His face, like now, was flushed and he smiled contentedly with his eyes closed. She giggled too, "If your uncle saw this, he'd think you'd stolen some wine and would definitely beat you!"
"Fish, Eucommia—"
She straightened her head at the sound, and it seemed as if she saw Yu Qi's face in his youth, a window hanging before her eyes. The azure sky of that time was nowhere to be seen; instead, a gloomy sky seemed to collapse above his head. The mole under his eyebrow had also shifted in position, resembling him yet not quite. She gazed at it for a long time, somewhat doubtful, "Uncle?"
He then smiled and said, "Please don't punish him; I insisted on coming."
Xu Bai saw the chaotic smile and tears on her face and was momentarily speechless. He was breathing with some difficulty as snowflakes slowly fell from his head, pale gray snowflakes.
The river surface turned gray and hazy. After the snow, the rugged peaks looked like divine soldiers and generals hidden in the curtain. Those gray cliffs reminded Yu Qi of the sword flashes throughout the mansion that night. He suddenly felt a little suffocated and couldn't help but cough twice.
"It's snowing. Even if you are a divine physician, there's an old saying: 'A doctor cannot heal himself.'" Youjun held the umbrella over his head and walked to his side. "Does the gentleman still have the refined taste to appreciate the snow?"
Yu Qi clenched his fist and coughed again, "I'm not some kind of literary figure, I have no interest in watching the snow. I just felt stuffy in the cabin, so I came out for some fresh air."
Youjun smiled and nodded, "Manager Ding's boat is quite spacious. If even this boat feels cramped, it seems it's not that the boat is bad, but that the gentleman doesn't like to travel far."
He glanced at her and said, "Miss Guan seems to be out and about quite often."
“Business people can’t just sit at home all the time.” Youjun smiled and looked towards the riverbank ahead. “We’ll be at Huailing Post Station soon. Xiaoyuer and the others will probably rest there for a couple of days. If we’re lucky, we might run into them there.”
"I hope so." Yu Qi didn't know why, but he felt uneasy. He had been feeling restless since morning, and it hadn't gotten any better by now.
"What important matter does Xiaoyuer have in the capital?"
"You think you can't guess, young lady?" He looked at her with a half-smile. "I'd like to ask you, young lady, what exactly are you trying to use us for?"
“How can it be ‘exploiting’? In this world, people say that having more friends means having more options. Rather than ‘exploiting’, it’s more like sharing the same boat. Didn’t you use me before, sir? I can guarantee that you’ll need my help a lot in the future.”
After saying this, she handed him the umbrella, put her hands back inside her hand warmers, and turned to go back to her cabin.
Two hours later, the boat arrived at Huailing Post Station. The group disembarked, and as soon as they entered the post station, Youjun ordered a table of wine and food. Zhang Da smiled and bowed in thanks before sitting down on a long bench. A moment later, a postman came to serve tea, and Yu Qi inquired about the whereabouts of Jiuli and the others.
The courier laughed and said, "Our place is the largest waterway post station in the surrounding hundreds of miles. Every day, many people disembark to eat and rest. I wonder what these guests you mentioned look like?"
Zhang Da hurriedly swallowed his tea and said, "There are two young men and women who look about the same age, seventeen or eighteen years old, and they are very good-looking. Humph, you probably have never seen such good-looking people in your life. Once you have seen them, you will never forget them."
"If that's the case, then I know! There are a few people, two men and two women, who stayed here overnight yesterday and left this morning. They've probably all reached Sanhe Post Station ahead!"
Just as Yu Qi was about to ask, You Jun said, "Sanhe Post Station is about fifty li away from here. I just don't know if they will stay there."
After a moment's thought, Yu Qi looked at the Ding brothers and said, "Would you two please finish your meal and then we'll head out?"
Ding Dacheng then looked at Youjun, who smiled and nodded, "The two managers should follow Mr. Yu's instructions; you won't suffer any losses."
Yu Qi had no time to ponder the meaning behind her words. He turned to the postman to inquire about the situation of Jiu Li and the others. He learned that the four of them had stayed there yesterday without any incident and left happily in the morning. He was somewhat relieved and ate a little to relieve his hunger.
Just as they were about to leave after their meal, a man wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat came out and asked the courier for a fast horse. The courier hurriedly smiled and said, "Are you going to take the land route instead? It's snowing, so it's cheaper to take the water route."
Hearing this from the doorway, Yu Qi turned around and looked inside. The man, seeing him, was clearly taken aback. He raised his hand to lower his straw hat, completely obscuring his features, and shouted at the postman, "Just prepare the horse when I tell you to! Why ask so many questions?!"
He was probably a bullying official. Yu Qi turned his head back, and only when he returned to the ship did he remember that he seemed to have seen the man somewhere before.
The wind and snow had not yet stopped, and dusk was approaching; it would probably snow heavily by tomorrow. Xu had spent a lot of effort carrying the Eucommia ulmoides off the boat and placing it in a guest room at Sanhe Post Station. He then turned around and lit an oil lamp on the octagonal table. The small post station seemed deserted tonight; only the sound of the wind could be heard, not human voices.
Looking up by the lamplight, he saw Jiuli sitting at the front of the long bench, staring blankly at the bed. His eyes were red and swollen, as if he were about to cry, but there were no tears to shed. He felt a pang of pity and understood that Du Zhong's death was partly due to his failure to report it, and he bore some responsibility. But things had come to this, and he and Jiuli could only move forward.
He glanced at Du Zhong, then sat down with his back to the bed and tentatively said in a deep voice, "I'll have Sister Guo ask the postmaster to prepare a coffin, and then ask them for a boat so they can send someone to take Du Zhong's body back to Nanjing tomorrow."
Upon hearing the word "corpse," Jiuli's gaze flickered. She slowly turned to look at him, paused for a moment, and then shook her head. "I'm not going to the capital anymore, and I'm not looking for my father. I'm taking Du Zhong home."
This was the thing he feared most. She was just a young woman, not concerned with the greater good of the nation, and her mind was easily swayed. But he couldn't let her go back no matter what, so he said, "Don't you want to avenge Du Zhong?"
Revenge? Yes, Du Zhong died of poisoning. Her unfocused gaze gradually hardened into a burning hatred. "Who poisoned him?"
Xu Bai looked towards the door. "Aside from the boatman and his son, it was just the four of us on the way. Who do you think poisoned us?"
The boatman and his son had no grudge against Du Zhong, so that left only him and Xiu Zhi. For a moment, Jiu Li suspected him, but then she thought about it. He and Du Zhong had known each other for so long, if they wanted to harm him, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? Besides, there were only a few of them on the road. If something happened to her and Du Zhong, whether it was the government or Yu Qi, he would be the first person they would think of. He wouldn't choose this time to take the risk.
Besides, he knew that he was a person who was indifferent to love and hate. No emotion could control his reason. Even the death of his closest relatives could not shake him. His quarrel with Du Zhong was just a minor disagreement, which was not worth mentioning to him.
That leaves only one suspicious person—
Her eyes suddenly flashed, and she asked incredulously, "You mean Aunt Guo?"
"Weren't you also wondering why she would leave her family to follow Du Zhong to the capital?" He sat up abruptly, slowly walked behind her, and glanced at her sideways. "Was she really going back to her parents' home, which she hadn't visited in many years, or did she simply have the leisure to travel around with Du Zhong?"
Jiuli was deep in thought with her head down when Xiuzhi knocked on the door twice. Then she gently pushed the door open and said, "The postmaster has agreed to send a ship to Nanjing tomorrow. I would like to go back with the ship."
She stood at the door, not coming in. The hallway was dark, and she kept her eyes slightly lowered, seemingly afraid to look at Jiu Li, almost afraid to go inside. Jiu Li stared at her intently, then stood up and walked towards her slowly. "Are you going back? Aren't you going to visit your parents' home in the capital?"
Xiuzhi raised her head and met her dark and piercing gaze, then immediately lowered her head again. "I want to go back with Du Zhong."
"Hmph, Sister Guo is truly deeply in love with Du Zhong." Xu Bai chuckled and stepped forward. "Stop pretending. Who exactly ordered you to murder Du Zhong?"
Xiuzhi suddenly looked up, stunned, and murmured, "I didn't—"
Xu Bai pulled a small paper packet from his pocket. "I secretly found this in your bag this afternoon. You sewed it into the lining of your clothes and hid it so carefully. I don't think it's any good medicine, is it?"
Jiuli snatched it away immediately, opened it to find a packet of powder, and after sniffing it carefully for a while, she looked up in shock. "This is poison extracted from datura." She then turned her gaze to Xiuzhi, her eyes burning with fury. "Did you really poison her?"
Xiuzhi shook her head repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes, "No, it wasn't me—"
At this moment, a surge of grievance and anger welled up in Jiu Li's heart, coalescing into a single force. It had to be her, it had to be her! She grabbed Xiu Zhi's wrist, dragged her to the bedside, and slammed her onto the bed. "If you don't want to be with him, then tell him clearly why you're hurting him! Look at him! What has he done to wrong you? He's been so good to you, how can you be so heartless!"
Xiuzhi threw herself onto Du Zhong. In her panic, she saw his face and was startled. She couldn't stand up and her body went limp to the ground. She could only shake her head.
Jiuli immediately squatted down, grabbed her arms with both hands, forced her to raise her head, and shook her repeatedly. "Why?! What did he do to wrong you? Tell me! Why did you hurt him—"
Seeing that Xiuzhi remained silent, she became enraged. She wiped away her tears, glanced around, and saw a bronze candlestick on the long table. She ran to get it, bent down, and raised it high at Xiuzhi, shouting, "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you to avenge Du Zhong!"
Xiuzhi didn't dodge, but her hand remained raised in the air for a long time, unable to fall. After a while, she lost her strength, and her arm finally drooped down. With a "bang," the candlestick rolled far away, and she collapsed, her hands on the ground, wailing loudly. Xubai tried to bend down to help her up, but she shook off his arms like a shrew, tilting her face up and crying loudly.
Tears welled up in Xiuzhi's eyes. "I told you, I told you everything, it really wasn't me who poisoned her, but... but I know who it was—"
Jiuli gasped twice, wiped away her tears, and crawled closer to her. "Who is it?!"
"It's Jiang Xu, it must be him!"
Xu Bai feigned ignorance and asked, "Who is Jiang Xu? Why did he kill Du Zhong?"
“He is Chen Jia’s servant, the same Chen Er Ye whom the master injured back then. I, I was originally a distant relative of the Chen family. He sent Jiang Xu to Nanjing to find me and gave me that packet of poison to kill Du Zhong, but I haven’t done it yet. It must be him! He was also there when we were at Huailing Post Station yesterday. He even urged me to do it as soon as possible, but I couldn’t do it. He probably couldn’t wait any longer, so he did it himself!”
Jiuli suddenly remembered the guest staying in the main room of Huailing Post Station, and the familiar-looking man she saw on the road. It turned out to be Chen Jia's servant. She must have seen him at the inn before!
She lunged forward and grabbed Xiuzhi's arm. "Did Chen Jia injure Uncle to get revenge? Then why didn't he kill me?! Uncle injured him for my sake, not for Du Zhong's!"
Xiuzhi pursed her lips and slowly shook her head. "It wasn't for that. They killed him because they suspected that Du Zhong was the Emperor's illegitimate son."
Jiuli stood there stunned for a long time, then turned to look at Xubai and murmured, "Why would they be so suspicious?"
Xu Bai suddenly felt guilty and lowered his eyelids, saying, "It was probably because Chen Jia recognized you as resembling Aunt Quan that he began to suspect your identity, and then he began to suspect Du Zhong. When I first met you, I also thought you were blood-related siblings."
Jiuli stared at the ground, still in a daze. "But we're not blood siblings, everyone knows that. Doesn't the Chen family know that?"
“Even if everyone says you’re not blood siblings, the Chen family is ‘better safe than sorry.’ They’d rather kill the innocent than let such a potential threat live. You’ve never been an official, so you don’t know how tempting power is. A human life is nothing in the face of power.”
As he spoke, he bent down and helped her to a stool. Her mind was buzzing, and she could only let him help her.
“Consort Chen has a son, who is the Emperor’s only biological son at present. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be made Crown Prince in about ten years. They are afraid that Du Zhong is the unexpected one.”
Xiuzhi slowly crawled to the bedside, looked at Du Zhong, and tapped the back of her head, saying, "Second Master Qi is right. I told Jiang Xu that Du Zhong is the son of a family surnamed Du in Suzhou. He is not your sibling at all and cannot be a 'prince'. Although Jiang Xu was half-believing, he still threatened me with Gou'er and my mother-in-law, forcing me to take action."
Jiuli's eyes were blank, her mind unsure of where to turn, and her ears were filled with a cacophony of noise—it turned out that her background had implicated Du Zhong.
Suddenly, a loud "bang" startled all three, as if someone had kicked open the downstairs door. Xu Bai hurried to the back of the door to listen, and downstairs, a courier was shouting, "Who are you people?! This isn't an inn, this is a government post station! Who dares to barge into our post station?!"
"We know this is an official post station, and we're not ordinary people. Tell us! Are there any people from Nanjing staying here tonight?!"
Xu Bai opened the door a crack and could see the scene downstairs through the corridor railing. There were six men in straw raincoats, and the one in the lead was grabbing the postman and growling, "Speak quickly!"
During the struggle, Xu Bai noticed a knife slung at his waist under his raincoat. He gently closed the door and turned to come in. Jiu Li, who had only heard but not seen, hurriedly greeted him, asking, "Who is it?"
"I don't know, but they don't seem to have any good intentions."
Xiuzhi stepped forward and asked, "They asked if people from Nanjing were coming for us?"
Xu Bai nodded solemnly, "Blow out the lamp, let's go back to the boat!"
Xiuzhi immediately blew out the oil lamp, but the room was on the second floor, and there was nowhere to go except downstairs. Jiuli looked around and pointed to the right, "Could we jump out of the window?"
Xu Bai stepped forward and looked around. Fortunately, the second floor wasn't too high, and there was a stable downstairs. There were two haystacks right under the window, so jumping onto them should be fine. He waved to them, but Jiu Li couldn't let go of Du Zhong halfway there and turned back to look at the bed.
"The living are the most important thing right now, don't act rashly!" Xu Bai pulled her over and carried her to the window. Looking down, he saw that Xiu Zhi had already jumped down and was climbing out of the haystack, waving at him.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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