Chapter 78 Don't be afraid
Liu Min suddenly returned.
The 27th was not yet time for the ten-day holiday, but the 28th was the birthday of Madam Zhang of the Music Bureau, and as her grandson, he naturally had to go and offer his congratulations.
Shanlai didn't know he was coming back, so she didn't go to pick him up, and she didn't go out for several days.
When Liu Min and the others couldn't find him, they went to the side room to look for him. They found him slumped on the bed, looking listless, and asked, "Are you sick?"
When Shanlai saw him, he was momentarily dazed.
She didn't know why, even though they had met just a few days ago, seeing each other again this time gave her a sense of vicissitudes that came with not seeing each other for a long time.
Looking at him, she felt inexplicably wronged, her chest tightened, and tears welled in her eyes.
Liu Min sat down by the bed, reached out to touch her forehead, and said, "I think you're not right. Are you really sick? If you are, you should see a doctor right away."
Shanlai didn't answer him, but just gripped his hand tightly on her forehead, her innocent eyes gazing at him intently.
Such grievances.
"You're really in the wrong." He said, and started to stand up.
Shanlai grabbed him, "Don't go."
"I'm not leaving. I'll go and get someone to find you a doctor."
"I am not sick."
"Really?"
Why would I lie to you?
That's true, but something really seems off about her.
"But is there anything that's not going well? Tell me."
Disappointing...
There are too many, but I can't tell him any of them.
Every single one of her misfortunes was related to him, but she didn't want him to know, because he hadn't done anything wrong. What had he done wrong? No, he was still wrong; he had wronged her by being too good to her.
He treated her so well that she began to have fantasies and desires.
A sudden pang of sadness welled up in my heart.
The person then regained consciousness.
Why are you back at this time?
"We are going to the Music Bureau tomorrow for the old lady's birthday celebration."
I see.
Shanlai nodded and then asked him, "What gift did you prepare?"
“I copied a sutra by hand and also obtained a white jade Guanyin statue.”
This gift is appropriate; no one can find fault with it.
Shanlai was relieved and nodded again, then asked him about his life at the Imperial College as usual.
It's a very ordinary thing, but every time he comes back, she asks him about it, and he tells her about it very patiently, in great detail.
This time, however, he remained silent and looked away.
Shanlai was puzzled and hurriedly asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?" He was afraid that something had happened to him.
He turned his head back, but kept it down, his face slightly flushed.
They remained silent.
Shan Lai grew a little anxious and shook his arm: "Say something!"
He slowly pulled a box out from his chest.
A black lacquered box with a floral design and inlaid mother-of-pearl.
"...Here you go, do you like it?"
"What is it?" he asked, having already taken it and opened it.
It's rouge.
Its color is like pomegranate blossoms, and its fragrance is irresistible.
"Do you like it?" he asked again, a hint of shyness in his voice. "I don't know much about these things, but I've heard they're very good..."
It's definitely great. The color is perfect, and the fragrance is lovely. It's much better than what she usually uses.
Shanlai will tell the truth, but he can't help but ask, "How did you get this?"
"I happened to pass by a place with vibrant colors that day... so I bought it."
It was really a coincidence. I was on my way back after dinner when I saw the sign and went inside.
She bought not only rouge, but also a box of face powder, a small silver box, and carved birds.
It was just a coincidence that I happened to be passing by.
But they didn't go to the rouge shop for no reason.
The Imperial Academy had many sons of wealthy families who would spend money to buy a qualification so they could take the imperial examinations in the future.
Such people have always existed, but none of them have ever truly achieved anything, so they have always been looked down upon.
Liu Min wasn't contemptuous of people; he never harbored any ill will towards them because he felt they were none of his business.
That day after school, on my way back to my cell to change clothes, I met seven or eight people like this, gathered under the plum tree.
One person asked, "Zizhang, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while. You just came to class this afternoon, and you have this mark on your neck. What happened?"
Another person, perhaps Zizhang, asked smugly, "What do you think?"
A group of people started to jeer.
Another person asked, "How did you manage to do it? Teach us too."
Zizhang said, "I bought her a box of rouge. Here it is, come and take a look."
Some people scoffed: "You got away with it for just a box of rouge? This wine seller is too cheap. What was with all that virtuous woman act all this time?"
Zi Zhang retorted, "What do you mean I got my hands on it with just a box of rouge? That's no ordinary rouge, it's top-quality stuff with vibrant colors. Just that little box cost me fifty taels of silver. It's a real gem. It didn't fade even after a whole day and night, and I can still smell the fragrance."
"Fifty taels for a box of rouge, you're quite willing to spend that much."
"It's because I like her."
The group started laughing again.
Liu Min had never crossed paths with these people and had no interest in their dissolute pursuit of pleasure, so he walked past them expressionlessly.
He hadn't taken it to heart at all, but as he passed by a riot of colors, he not only remembered it perfectly, but also another thing.
He had overheard it by chance not long ago.
Shanlai stood under the eaves and said to Ziyu, "The rouge that the manor buys is getting worse and worse. The color is bad, it's thin, and it makes my skin itchy no matter where I apply it."
So he stepped into the vibrant world.
This is actually a very common thing.
Whenever he saw something nice outside, he would buy it for her. He really enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on her face when she saw those things, which always reminded him of himself receiving her letters in Pingcheng a few years ago.
But this time, because of the erotic stories those people were telling, he felt very embarrassed, as if he had become one of the people in that crowd that day and had done something improper.
That's why I blush, and that's why I stutter when I speak.
He was not like them at all; he showed her absolutely no disrespect.
That's why he acted that way.
Shanlai also remembered the rouge. She'd only mentioned it casually that day and forgotten about it immediately. She'd never liked these things, but the household bought them for everyone, and she couldn't very well not use them. What she least wanted was for others to think she was different from everyone else, so they'd also treat her face like a canvas, painting on it with red and green. With makeup, it was a completely different feeling—too charming and delicate, as if she'd grown up instantly and become an adult. So she really disliked fussing over these things. The discomfort of using rouge gave her a perfectly valid reason to enjoy the convenience.
I never expected him to remember this and buy her nice things.
He couldn't have treated her better.
That's really good.
This gave her courage.
On the evening of the 28th, Liu Shen returned from the Music Bureau with his wife and children.
Shanlai had been waiting in the main hall of Guangyi Hall. Liu Mincai walked in looking exhausted, and she quickly went up to him and said, "I have something to tell you, come with me."
Liu Min didn't ask any more questions. He rubbed his face and followed her outside, all the way to the garden and the pond.
Standing under the willow tree, Shanlai raised his face and stared intently at Liu Min, quite unlike his usual self.
Liu Min noticed something was wrong with her and asked, "What's wrong? What do you want to tell me?"
Shanlai didn't say anything, but calmly kicked off his right shoe and then bent down to neatly remove his socks.
Liu Min was startled and immediately looked around in a panic. Seeing that there was really no one there, she calmed down again. "What are you doing?" she asked, her brows furrowed and her voice filled with annoyance. She took two steps over and bent down to pick up her shoes.
Shanlai kicked the shoe aside, forbidding him from picking it up.
Liu Min was baffled. "What exactly are you trying to do? Aren't you afraid someone will come?"
“I’m not afraid,” Shan said. “Lian Si, now that things have come to this, I’m not afraid of anything.”
Liu Min was even more confused, looking at her with a face full of doubt.
Shanlai raised his right foot.
The setting sun still cast its last rays.
Shanlai is very careful in healing his wounds, and dares not be careless, because he is really afraid of leaving scars. Now, the minor wounds are no longer noticeable. Only by deliberately looking can you find those crisscrossing, tiny marks. But the more serious wounds are covered with large, patchy scabs.
It looks terrible.
Liu Min was startled again. "What happened?" Where did all these injuries come from?
He bent down, wanting to see more clearly, but Shanlai still wouldn't allow it: "Stand still and listen to me carefully."
She was so different from usual today.
But Liu Min was willing to listen to her. He stood up straight, frowned, pursed his lips, and looked at her with puzzlement.
"Do you remember Miss Qiu, the Transport Commissioner?"
"I remember, so what?"
“Two weeks ago, she hired someone to pose as a kidnapper and mingle in the Huguosi market to abduct me.”
"What?" Liu Min's eyes widened instantly. "What did you say?"
Shanlai continued, “A mother and son, the mother a prostitute and the son a scoundrel who gambles, drinks, and whores, were at the market near Huguo Temple. They told me I was going to elope with someone, and that they were my family members who had no choice but to kidnap me. The people at the market believed them, and no one helped me. I went crazy and made a scene, which is how I escaped… Liansi, do you think I could have escaped? He caught up with me, dragged me into the woods, and tore my clothes.” She paused, looking calmly at Liu Min.
Liu Min suddenly reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing her tightly against him, and called out in a trembling voice, "Shanlai, Shanlai..." He also said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..." He kept repeating this sentence afterward.
Shanlai heard his heartbeat, which was even faster than the raindrops pounding in a summer downpour.
Shanlai was no longer afraid, so Liu Min's words of comfort were meaningless and could not offer her any solace.
"Lian Si, do you think I'm dirty?"
"Don't say that, don't be afraid, I'm here..."
That's what he said.
However, he cried.
Because he knew why Shanlai had suffered these things.
He wronged her.
Shanlai knew what he was thinking and understood his guilt, but she had no intention of letting him off the hook.
“Lian Si,” she spoke again, her voice still calm, “what do you think caused her to do this to me?”
Liu Min trembled, then burst into tears, her sobs broken and fragmented.
"It's all because you can't marry me. There has to be someone else between us... I don't like that."
After saying that, she cried and hugged him.
"Lian Si, I only love you, I really only love you, I don't love anyone else... I'm fine, I just hurt my foot, someone rescued me... Lian Si, let's go together! We have hands and feet, we can survive anywhere, let's leave here, let's go somewhere where it's just the two of us, I only want you... I know you don't like it here either, let's go somewhere else and live a happy life..."
She pleaded with him, tears streaming down her face.
She begged him to give them both a way out.
He didn't speak.
He remained silent.
Shan Lai tilted her head back, trying her best to look him in the eye.
He turned his face slightly away.
Shanlai felt her heart being squeezed tightly, her flesh being crushed. Gradually, even the skin on her face stiffened involuntarily, and she could no longer cry.
But she still wouldn't give up. She thought that he loved her too, just as she loved him, and that neither of them could lose the other.
That's what she was thinking, so she softened her voice as much as possible and said to him in a seductive manner, "Don't be afraid, we..."
She didn't continue speaking.
Because Liu Min suddenly let go of her.
He continued to avoid her gaze.
He turned and left, saying, "I'll get justice for you! I'll never let her get away with this!"
He left, very quickly, almost as if he were fleeing.
His shadow has disappeared.
Shanlai squatted down on the ground, covered his face in the darkness, and cried softly.
It kept sobbing, like a trapped beast that had reached a dead end.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com