Northbound
Steam was rising from the hot pot in the room, and a few slices of lamb were boiling in the boiling water.
"I wanted to take some venison, but it looked strange. I guess that woman has embezzled a lot of money again." Yulan picked up a piece of winter bamboo shoots and put it into Haitang's bowl.
"Not only is there no venison, but now there's even no bamboo shoots."
Liu Er thought that it would be more fun to eat with more people, so he asked Yulan to stay. Yulan also took Baofu and Haitang with her. But now he regretted it when he saw that even the bamboo shoots flew into other people's bowls.
Seeing that Liu Er was inexplicably jealous, Yulan picked up another piece of meat for him.
"But speaking of it, this year seems to be particularly difficult. Jianghuai suffered a disaster, and I heard that a war broke out in the north. I don't know what preparations the court is making." Bao Fu spoke seriously while eating.
Haitang joked that he was talking like a sour scholar, shaking his head, and she didn't know if it was just the mush in his brain. Bao Fu argued that it was the same everywhere, and he was just imitating others.
Liu Er may not understand the situation outside, but he knows that the Liu family's money is about to be squandered by his unreliable father.
Ever since Madam Qin left, Liu Er has been looking through the account books. In just half a month, his expenses have increased several times more than usual. His business has also suffered a lot of losses due to transportation delays caused by the war in the north.
"Yulan, do you want to go with me?"
"The north? Isn't there a war going on there?" Yulan was surprised.
"Well, some cargo is stuck there."
"Do I have to go?"
"I've thought about it for a long time. If we want to split up the family, this is an opportunity." Liu Er stroked the loose hair at the temples of Yulan, hoping that Yulan would agree to go north with him.
After a long silence, Yulan nodded blankly. She didn't know what she was hesitating about. It seemed that she was afraid, but also seemed to have a vague expectation.
She leaned into Liu Er's arms, hugged him tighter, and asked in a low voice: "There are frequent wars in the north. Will we be in danger?"
"I don't know, but it's better than now."
Liu Er looked out the window at the leafless, withered trees, as if reflecting on the Liu family's fate. He'd had enough of sitting around waiting for death.
"Can I not go?"
Yulan raised her head and pecked the corner of Liu Er's lips, then rubbed his shoulder as if she was acting coquettishly.
"Then I'll go by myself and pick you up after the dust settles."
"No, we have to go together."
Liu Er and Yu Lan had never traveled far before, so they were a little flustered after making this decision. Yu Lan wanted to take Liu Er to Feng Qing Temple to pay her respects to the Taoist priest, hoping that they would have a safe and smooth journey.
Liu Er was reluctant at first, but he couldn't resist Yulan's words:
"What if?"
The sky had just brightened and the morning mist had not yet dissipated. The main gate of Fengqing Temple was still hidden in the chaos with its doors tightly closed.
At this time, Yulan was already standing at the entrance of the Taoist temple with Liu Er, holding their fists together and waiting devoutly. She closed her eyes tightly, lowered her head, and recited the scriptures she had not yet memorized. Seeing her solemn expression, Liu Er had to bow his head and pray as well.
I don’t ask for anything else, I just hope that this journey will be safe and smooth.
Nearly half a minute later, the heavy gate slowly opened. A gentle mountain breeze swept away the hazy mist, and the figure within the gate gradually became clearer. Inside the vast Taoist temple, it was Ruoque who greeted them.
"Sir, please come this way." Ruoque bowed to them as if he didn't know them before.
Yulan burned the first stick of incense in the Sanqing Temple. Just as she was secretly rejoicing that she had arrived early, a strange evil wind blew out the incense and candles.
Is this a bad omen?
Yulan looked at Ruoque helplessly, but Ruoque continued to sweep the hall with an expressionless face.
"Maybe it's a coincidence. I'll try again." Liu Er comforted Yulan and took a new incense stick and started praying again. However, the incense stick broke and fell to the ground as soon as it was inserted into the incense burner.
"What does this mean?"
Ruo Que came over with the lottery stick and said to Liu Er, "Master wants you to draw one."
The two shook the stick holder devoutly, and a bamboo stick jumped out and landed on the ground, with the words written on it:
"When the willow branches are broken and the flowers are gone, the dead tree will see spring again after the rain."
Ruo Que quickly explained, "Blessings be upon you, Heavenly Lord. It was just a false alarm. I wish you both good luck."
Yulan kowtowed several times in each hall, half believing it, before leaving anxiously. Ruoque escorted them out of the mountain gate and gave them the fortune sticks.
"Although this journey is dangerous, it is possible to survive."
After paying respects to the Immortal, Liu Er and Yulan said goodbye to Ruoque and went down the mountain again. The carriage that passed by them belonged to Captain Wei.
The Wei family's carriage was ostentatious, glittering with jewels and precious stones, and the words "Wei family" were embroidered on the tent.
"Is that the Wei family's carriage?"
Liu Er asked doubtfully, "Do you know the Wei family?"
Yulan shook her head and said she didn't recognize him, but she couldn't help but look back.
The bead curtain of the carriage was lifted and the girl who stuck her head out was Wei Ruchu.
"Little Master Ruque!"
Ruoque stood at the door for a long time with a smile on his face, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
It was past noon when Yulan and Liu Er returned to the Liu family's house. Passing through the garden, they heard someone crying again. Yulan winked at Liu Er, telling him to go back while she went to investigate.
Liu Er was unhappy at first, thinking Yulan was meddling in his affairs. But when he saw the look in Yulan's eyes that seemed to slash at him like a knife, he calmed down and just said he would go back and wait for her.
The one crying was Hua Xiu, and the one comforting her was Ku Lian.
All I could hear was Hua Xiu cursing, "That old man is still alive. He wants to marry me right after his wife died. I wouldn't be happy if you were his mistress, let alone his first wife."
"Our girl won't agree." Melia azedarach comforted her.
"Our daughter is good, but the master has found my father again. That old man will agree to anything if he sees money. If he forces me, the worst that can happen is that I will hang myself in front of him."
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Melia gloria stomped her feet a few times while spitting. "Stop saying those unlucky words! My girl must have a way! It won't come to that!"
The more Hua Xiu spoke, the angrier and sadder she became, lamenting her miserable life.
After hearing this, Yulan didn't know how to go forward to comfort her. After thinking about it, she turned around and went back to the North Courtyard.
Tonight, she finally got to eat lily pad thai noodles, but Yulan was in no mood. Putting aside the omen at the Sanqing Temple that morning, the incident with Hua Xiu had already weighed heavily on her mind.
The woman in the backyard was so unlucky that she was scattered by the wind.
Looking at the lives slipping away, she always recalled the women who committed suicide in the brothels when she was a child. She knew that many women were carried out of the brothels, some of them were infected with diseases, some were beaten to death, and some committed suicide.
But she only remembered that one. She couldn't remember the woman's name, but she remembered that she smelled good, had soft hands, and that she would occasionally buy fried cherries for her to eat.
One day, she opened the door as usual to ask for cherry pancakes, but what she saw was a woman covered in blood.
My mother said that the woman died in the house and died unjustly. It would be better for her to rush to the door of the Wei family and kill herself by smashing her head against the wall, so that her life would not be in vain.
Little Yulan held her mother's hand, and at that age when children speak without restraint, she asked, "So, will you also go to Daddy and get yourself killed in the future?"
My mother suddenly realized she had said the wrong thing. She spitted a few times and said, "What's the big deal about death? Remember, the most important thing for a person is to stay alive, to live like a human being. If you die, everything is gone, you are nothing. Don't learn these things. You will be a decent girl in the future and live a decent life."
"What's wrong?" Liu Er saw that she was worried and asked at an inappropriate time.
"The master wants to embroider flowers." As soon as she finished speaking, Yulan suddenly burst into tears.
She didn't know what was wrong with her, as if there was a breath stuck in her chest and she couldn't breathe it out.
Liu Er caught Yulan's tears, at a loss. He had never seen Hua Xiu and Yulan be good friends, so why did she suddenly shed tears?
"I'll think of a way."
"What's your chance to think of? She's the maid in the eldest lady's room."
Yulan slapped Liu Er's hand away and continued eating noodles in small bites. The more she ate, the more heartbroken she felt.
Hua Xiu did not become a concubine in the end. Liu Ruren sent her to Fengqing Temple to live with Liu San.
Liu San now does not recognize the Liu family nor Master Liu as his father. He only says that he is a disciple of Master Taixu from Fengqing Temple.
No matter how angry Mr. Liu was, he couldn't do anything about him. He cursed him as a rebellious son and told him not to expect to inherit his property in the future.
Liu San was also tough and retorted that after a hundred years, Master Liu would probably be left with only debts, and he would not be a sucker who cleaned up other people's messes.
In the end, the father and son parted ways unhappily with a slap in the face.
After that, the woman in the Vanilla Garden became even more proud and urged the master to make her his legal wife.
"Just rest and take care of your pregnancy. We'll discuss this after the baby is born." Master Liu's mind was spinning with calculations. He had no intention of letting Concubine Xiang take charge of the household. His future second wife would have to be from a scholarly family, or someone of equal status.
I wonder if the regular customers of Nanfeng Pavilion can be considered a good match for Master Liu?
Yulan saw another incense in the drawer that she had never seen before and thought of lighting it to try. As soon as she picked it up with the tongs, Liu Er knocked her hand.
"What are you doing? I can't use anything in this room now?"
The back of her hand was hit red, and Yulan was angry and complained a few words.
"I'm sorry..." Liu Er lowered his head, cupped his hands and blew carefully, then asked cautiously, "Does it still hurt?"
"No." Yulan was so angry that she turned her head away and didn't look at him.
"Just now, I had to make a decision in a hurry. Isn't that fragrant..."
"What is that?"
"Five Stone Powder."
"Five Stone Powder?!"
Liu Er made a gesture to silence Yulan and asked her to speak more quietly.
"Where did it come from?"
Isn’t that Wu Shi San… deadly?
"That day I went to my father's room and smelled something wrong, so I asked Bao Fu to keep an eye on it. In the end I found out that it was Lian Qiao who secretly brought it in."
"Aunt Xiang?"
Yulan was shocked but also felt it was reasonable. She just didn't expect Mr. Liu and Aunt Xiang to be so bold.
"Do you want to report to the police?" Yulan asked.
"I've sent word, but there's been no response. I think we'd better get going as soon as possible."
Yes, the Liu family is becoming more and more absurd, so it’s better to go north as soon as possible.
"When do we leave?"
"The first day of next month."
On the day of departure, Liu Er walked out through the side door and no one saw him off. The four people from the North Courtyard hurriedly set off with their luggage.
The journey north will take more than a few months, but the luggage is not much.
Liu Er said that if it was not enough, he could just buy more on the way, as he had a lot of money with him.
Seeing that he was still looking back at the Liu family's old house which was getting farther and farther away while he was talking, Yulan hugged him from behind.
"You should have known he wouldn't come."
"...Well, I should have known that."
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