Chapter 24 In the Ashes: "You didn't want to leave, so don't leave again..."
"My lord, the doctor has examined you and said it's nothing serious."
Wei Zhan came out from the inner room, glanced at Wei Chun who was pacing back and forth guiltily, and said leisurely, "He must have been too tired and sleepy, and the sleeping pills were too strong, which is why he slept for so long. He will wake up naturally when the effects of the drugs wear off."
Upon hearing this, Wei Chun immediately crossed his arms and hurriedly retorted, "I only thought this girl had great internal strength because of her excellent lightness skill, so I released a little more, who knew she..."
A sharp glare flew at him. Wei Chun received Wei Zhan's signal and looked at Ji Ming, who was sitting at the table with a pale face. He hurriedly bowed and admitted his mistake: "It was my dereliction of duty. Please punish me, Master."
Where is Zhao Yue?
“Reporting to Master, we have already shaken them off. This place…” Wei Chun hesitated for a moment before truthfully replying, “This is the western suburbs of Ying County, Lord Cen’s villa.”
Ji Ming's movement to grab the teacup froze in mid-air.
"Lord Cen said that he is busy with official duties and is afraid that he will not be able to find the time to visit you. This courtyard is secluded, so please feel at ease staying here."
"What is he busy with?"
Ji Ming pressed his knuckles against the acupoint near his temple and frowned slightly.
Not hearing a reply from the two of them, his expression darkened further, and he raised his phoenix eyes slightly, glancing at Wei Zhan.
"It seems like they're... busy procuring supplies."
Wei Chun spoke first, signaling Wei Zhan to quickly hand over the memorial.
Seeing the two of them pushing and shoving each other to delay, the man in the upper position looked even colder.
As the air pressure dropped, Wei Chun snatched several books from Wei Zhan and spread them out one by one, handing them to Ji Ming.
"Master, the grain harvest in the southwest is completely in chaos."
“All prefectures and counties are increasing grain taxes. They say that if the deadline is not met, male laborers will be used to pay the tax. Pingcheng and Shuncheng have already seized a lot of laborers and sent them to Changzhou. Ying County is still able to operate for the time being because Lord Cen is holding it off.”
"Who ordered the imposition of the grain tax?"
Ji Ming glanced at the few lines on the document, his eyes turning slightly cold.
Catching his breath, not hearing their reply, he threw the invitation away.
Even as two letters were slammed into their faces, the two men simply lowered their eyes and listened to the reprimand, not daring to move an inch.
On the contrary, when they saw Ji Ming coughing and choking, they panicked and bowed to admit their guilt.
"My lord, please calm down... Your health is of utmost importance."
Seeing that Ji Ming looked even more tired than before, Wei Zhan dared not delay and disturb his rest. He gripped his sword tightly, steeled his heart, and spoke: "They... said they were acting on your orders."
“In the past few days, my subordinates and Wei Chun have investigated. All the inns and post stations in the counties under Changzhou have been closed. Official communications are all carried out by the governor’s guards. Messengers from the capital can only reach the city gate of Changzhou and are secretly brought into the city by the governor’s men.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Chun quickly chimed in, "It's like this, Your Majesty. Rumors are flying everywhere from Changzhou downwards. There are all sorts of things being said. Your reputation is already bad enough, but it seems that even the Emperor's reputation is not as good as it used to be in Changzhou. It's really strange."
Ji Ming vaguely remembered this incident.
When Ning Lu was still delivering messages and goods to the three villages, she had told him that there were few peddlers going from street to street, and even fewer soldiers delivering messages. This lack of information kept her bored, leading her to wander around seeking gossip and stories for amusement, which led her to discover the past between Xie Qinghe and the Prince Xian.
Grain, post stations, men...
Ji Ming closed his eyes briefly, his fingertips landing on the table one by one, his body swaying slightly.
"master."
He waved his hand to stop the two men from rushing forward nervously, coughed softly, and asked about another matter: "How is the investigation of Liu Yunying going?"
“I have already asked the villagers in the surrounding area. On the fifteenth of July, besides us, only the woman in the house and Zhao Yue’s men entered Siyun Mountain.” Wei Zhan said solemnly and slowly, “According to the pawnshop owner, the jade pendant that was lost from the Prince Xian’s mansion was also obtained from her.”
"We believe that the young lady inside, Ning, is inextricably linked to Liu Yunying."
"Reporting to Master, it is only Wei Zhan who thinks so." Wei Chun's left eyelid twitched suddenly, and he glanced at him as if he were a fool before continuing.
Ji Ming seemed used to the two disagreeing, and without even looking up, continued to ask, "Where's the evidence?"
"Your subordinate is still investigating."
“If you say it’s the same person, then bring the physical evidence to the court.”
There was a sound from inside. Ji Ming frowned slightly, took out a blood-stained note from his chest, tapped it on the table, and glanced at Wei Zhan.
"Your subordinate obeys."
“Tell your men not to come near this place.”
"master?"
Wei Chun grabbed Wei Zhan, who was trying to ask him more questions, and gave him a wink.
Only after Ji Ming's figure disappeared behind the door did Wei Chun pull Wei Zhan closer to the table and pick up the note.
"What are you doing? I have something to ask you."
"Ask, ask, ask what? Ask Master whether he should arrest that woman named Ning Lu and torture her in the dungeon to find out if she is Liu Yunying?"
"Why not!"
Wei Chun was speechless. He pointed to the tightly closed door, then to Wei Zhan, and automatically stepped aside to keep his distance.
Although the note on the table was stained with blood, it was clear that it had been kept very well by someone close to their body.
When laid flat, it has almost no wrinkles.
But...
"Strange, I can't recognize any of the characters." Wei Chun frowned, carefully examining the note for a long time, but still couldn't decipher its contents.
"Could this be the handwriting of Miss Ning inside?" Wei Chun thought for a moment, then quickly took out another note from his pocket.
[To obtain the list of traitors, meet at Siyun Mountain.]
Although the handwriting on this form wasn't exactly elegant or neat, it was already quite tidy and presentable compared to the wad of scrap paper in their hands.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other in bewilderment.
Wei Chun shoved both notes into Wei Zhan's hand at the same time: "These shouldn't be the handwriting of the same person, right?"
"Perhaps the letter sent to the Censor's residence was written by someone else. I'll go and check the origin of this letter again."
After saying this, Wei Zhan folded the two pieces of paper together, put them in his pocket, and turned to leave.
Why are you in such a hurry?
"This woman is too dangerous; we can't just leave her by the master's side like this."
Before he finished speaking, Wei Zhan rushed out again.
Wei Chun pondered for a long time, but still dared not agree. He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips as he looked into the room. He had been squatting on the roof of that thatched hut for several days, and had seen everything he needed to see.
The Xie Zhongcheng inside is someone who would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. Judging from his current demeanor, he clearly doesn't consider Miss Ning a dangerous person.
In the blink of an eye, Wei Zhan had vanished. Wei Chun could only fold up the two letters reporting on grain harvesting on the ground and leisurely slipped outside the door.
The chill of the moonlight was somewhat melted away by the faint morning light, and the girl on the bed stretched lazily and kicked the blanket off her body.
A loud yawn shook the dew off the windowpane, and the silver threads and ash from the charcoal brazier scattered with a thud.
"I slept so soundly and comfortably."
Ning Lu mumbled in her sleep, clutching the satin quilt beside her tightly as she turned over, closed her eyes, and prepared to sleep again.
He ran his hand over the blanket from top to bottom, then suddenly opened his eyes.
Silk?
He touched the bed frame beside him; it was carved and lacquered wood.
What's going on? Because she ruined the previous scenario, she's starting over this time. And now she's transmigrated into a noble family. Can she become a substitute bride and tear apart the scumbag boyfriend?
She was reborn, reborn in...
Ji Amin?
Ning Lu caught a glimpse of the man beside the octagonal table out of the corner of her eye, and immediately sat up.
The man was still dressed in coarse linen clothes, looking travel-worn, with one hand resting on the table, appearing to be taking a short nap with his eyes closed in exhaustion.
From a distance, his fingertips and lips were tinged with a faint purple aura. He frowned and lowered his eyes as he breathed heavily, as if each breath exhausted most of his strength.
Ning Lu, wrapped in the blanket, stared blankly at his haggard appearance, a mix of indescribable emotions welling up inside her.
After a long while, she tiptoed out of bed and shuffled towards him in her slippers.
With only two steps left, she dared not take any more steps, afraid that her reckless movements would wake him.
Ning Lu bent down, tilted her head, and moved forward a little.
On the tip of his high, fair nose, glistening with fine beads of sweat, he looked even more like a fragile porcelain doll.
Seeing Ji Ming's long, fan-shaped eyelashes tremble and a silent, amused smile curl at the corner of his mouth, Ning Lu immediately held her breath.
Is it pretty?
"I...I'll check if you're still alive."
Seeing this, Ning Lu realized that this person had been pretending to be asleep since she woke up. She cleared her throat, pretended to stand up straight with her hands behind her back, and immediately began to argue.
The man opened his eyes, looked her up and down with a smile, and nodded slightly with satisfaction: "You have plenty of energy, so you should be fine."
Even though he was sitting on the stool, looking up at her from below, Ning Lu felt guilty and sweaty from his gaze, and took two steps back.
"Where is this? Did we escape? And that..." She looked at his defeated face, "Have you been here the whole time?"
"More or less. It's safe here."
Ji Ming nodded, still smiling as he stared at her.
Ning Lu had never seen him so good-tempered before, and a chill ran down her spine. She asked again, "What's wrong? What happened?"
She remembered that she seemed to have been slashed in the back, and then she lost consciousness.
Right now, there are charcoal braziers and silk brocades all around us: "Have we been arrested, or are we about to be executed?"
Ji Ming gave a wry smile and asked, "Does it have to be this bad?"
He tried to sit up straight, and as his body shifted, his hand on the table trembled, and he fell forward without any effort.
Ning Lu reacted quickly, stepping forward to catch his falling body, only then realizing that something was wrong.
He was sitting upright, but instead of using his left hand to support himself against the table, he awkwardly used his right hand to support his forehead.
Suddenly realizing something, Ning Lu wrapped her arms around his waist and tore open the front of his shirt.
The wound, which had been healing for two months and was beginning to bleed, started bleeding again.
The chest in her arms trembled violently, as if struggling with some strength, but to no avail.
Thinking he was going to use those feudal ethics to brush her off again, Ning Lu retorted first: "When did the wound reopen? Why wasn't it treated?"
To everyone's surprise, Ji Ming still wore that faint smile, seemingly quite pleased with her trembling tone of nervousness.
"It's all because... I'm protecting you, Ning Lulu..."
His slender fingers reached out and touched her wrist, guiding Ning Lu's hand to her chest.
Her narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes slanted upwards, and she said breathlessly, "And here...it hurts too..."
Seeing his pitiful state, barely breathing, Ning Lu didn't even dare to struggle. She could only press herself against the fabric on his chest, following his strength.
The scorching heat seeped into her body from her palms, and her breath caught in her throat.
He seems to have a fever again.
When he looked up again, Ji Ming's usually shrewd eyes were blank and even reddish from the high fever.
Her body, which she was holding, slumped down, completely exhausted.
Ning Lu was both shocked and frightened, and afraid that shouting would aggravate her already fragile heart, so she could only plead with him in a trembling voice.
"Ji Amin, don't scare me. Hang in there, okay? I'll help you to bed."
"Help! Is anyone there?"
This person is really something. One second he was smiling and telling her it was okay, no problem, and the next second he vomited blood all over her and then passed out.
Ning Lu was instantly terrified. Without caring about volume, she shouted for help.
She was lucky; there were indeed several servants guarding outside the door. They worked together to lift the unconscious and delicate patient onto the bed, and then, out of nowhere, they brought in a doctor with a white beard and white hair to take her pulse.
Just as she was still drenched in cold sweat, the person on the bed opened his eyes at some point, staring intently at her through the circle of servants, muttering incoherently as if possessed by a ghost.
He said, "You didn't want to leave, so don't leave again."
Ning Lu looked at his red eyes and assumed that he was just unconscious from his illness and was unusually weak, so she quickly went along with his wishes to coax him.
Acupuncture points are located using gold needles, and moxibustion is applied to the meridians using medicinal herbs.
The room was once again filled with the strong, bitter smell of medicine. Ning Lu, holding the new clothes brought by the servant, sat cross-legged on the soft couch to keep watch.
She didn't know when the man on the bed opened his eyes. She had to go up to him again and repeat her vows and oaths to put his mind at ease and to put everyone else at ease.
When the sun was high in the sky, that spoiled brat finally calmed down a bit.
Ning Lu rubbed her rumbling stomach, then sprawled out on the soft couch and let out a long sigh.
"Ning Lulu, your life is so full of twists and turns, so cheap, so inexpensive!"
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