Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Let go.
From the corner room on the third floor of the Shangyang Street Restaurant, low sobs could be heard from time to time.
The gauze curtain in front of the bed was hung high with silver hooks. A girl with a dirty face was sitting on the edge of the couch. She was wearing clothes that didn't fit her well. She leaned in Hongye's arms, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief in her hand.
"Second Miss, would you like some more water?"
The woman leaning on Hongye's arms looked very similar to Lin Zhen from the side. She was none other than Lin Yue, the second daughter of the Lin family. Lin Zhen had received the news that Ning Shilu had found Lin Yue early in the morning, so he quickly came here with Hongye.
"I don't want to drink anymore, I want to go home!"
Lin Yue frowned, brushed away the teacup handed to her by Hongye unhappily, and scolded.
Lin Zhen stood outside, packing her parcels in an orderly manner. Lin Yue's scolding did not interrupt her movements. She tied the parcels tightly, put them aside, walked into the inner room, and whispered, "The prince has found a house, you can live there first--"
"I said it! I want to go home! I want to go back to the Lin Mansion!"
Lin Yue suddenly sat up from Hongye's arms, clenched her fists, and glared at Lin Zhen.
Lin Yue was found by Ning Shilu outside the city. She still didn't know what had happened in the capital. Ning Shilu couldn't bear to tell her the truth, so he kept it a secret. Seeing that the atmosphere between the two sisters was not right, he hurried to comfort Lin Yue: "Sister Yue, you have suffered a lot these days. My new house is in the mountains near Qingquan. You can avoid the summer heat and recuperate. It won't be too late to go home then."
"Shut up! I'm going back to the Lin Mansion, right now!"
Ning Shilu was Lin Yue's cousin and the heir of the Marquis of Anle, so Lin Yue should have respected him. However, because Ning Shilu had always been submissive and obedient to her elder sister since childhood, she had always looked down on him. In the past, she would have followed etiquette and been careful with her words, but these past few months had worn away any remaining sense of propriety, and she no longer had any scruples when it came to her words.
"Lin Yue, my father is gone, and I can't go back to the Lin Mansion."
Lin Zhen suddenly spoke lightly, as if she was talking about something very ordinary. After that, she casually placed a pair of half-worn embroidered shoes she had worn in front of the couch, not far from Lin Yue.
"……nonsense!"
"Lin Zhen, you're talking nonsense!"
After she finished speaking, Lin Yue's whole body began to tremble uncontrollably. She had no place to vent her anger, so she snatched the teacup from Hongye's hand and smashed it at Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen hadn't had time to straighten her bent back, her slender neck drooping slightly, when the teacup struck her right forehead. Still recovering from the summer heat of two days ago, Lin Zhen couldn't stand steadily for a moment, but Ning Shilu stepped forward to support her.
"Yuer, how can you treat your sister like this!" Ning Shilu supported the pale-faced Lin Zhen and scolded Lin Yue.
On one side was the master she had followed since childhood, and on the other side was the second young lady in the mansion. Hongye felt sorry for Lin Zhen, but she didn't dare to do anything to this little ancestor. She hurriedly bent over to pick up the small teacup that had rolled on the ground, and took away everything around Lin Yue that might hurt people, and placed them far away outside.
After being scolded by Ning Shilu, Lin Yue did not talk back, but bit her lower lip so deeply with her teeth that it almost drew blood. After a long silence, Lin Yue suddenly broke down and burst into tears: "You said, you said let me wait for you, sister, you said you would take me home..."
Before the incident at the Lin Mansion, Lin Zhen and Lin Yue were both paying tribute to their deceased mother at Lanruo Temple outside the city. On the way back, Lin Zhen received news from the mansion. She settled Lin Yue in a pavilion and returned to the mansion first.
She once said, "Just wait here and your sister will come to take you home."
But Lin Zhen hadn't expected that once she left, she would no longer be able to control her own life. By the time she was able to leave the Jiaofangsi, there was no trace of Lin Yue.
Ever since Lin Yue could remember, her elder sister had always been cold and aloof, not very talkative, and was even stricter with her than her father. Although the two of them were not as close as ordinary sisters, Lin Yue knew in her heart that her elder sister loved her and would never abandon her without a reason.
Or perhaps it was because they were connected by blood, she had a bad feeling, but when she heard these words from her elder sister's mouth, she still felt heartbroken and unable to accept it.
Lin Zhen closed her eyes slightly and relaxed, pushing Ning Shilu away. She walked forward slowly, stopped in front of Lin Yue, reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, and said in a low voice: "Why are you crying? Sister is still here."
Hearing the sound, Lin Yue cried even harder. She hugged Lin Zhen's waist tightly and buried her head in tears.
Hongye looked at Lin Zhen who was standing in front of the couch. Today, in order to meet Lin Yue, she specially changed into the old clothes she wore when she was in the Lin Mansion. She didn't want the second girl to know that she was imprisoned in the Music Bureau.
Last night, the girl was still running a fever and talking nonsense, but today she pretended to be fine.
Hongye looked at Lin Zhen's blue eyes, pale lips, but straight back, and couldn't help but cry along with Lin Yue.
The master’s passing was also heartbreaking for the girl, but the second girl still had someone she could confide in and rely on, but what about the girl... ?
Lin Zhen had always presented herself as calm and indifferent, as if no storm, no matter how great, was a threat to her. Although Hongye had never witnessed her vulnerability, she understood one thing: humans are made of flesh and blood, and their capacity to endure is ultimately limited...
After a while, Lin Yue's emotions finally calmed down. Lin Zhen brought the package in from outside. "You can stay in the house for now. If you need anything," Lin Zhen glanced at Ning Shilu and continued, "The prince will help you."
Lin Zhen wanted to take Lin Yue away from the capital, but it was not easy. She did not want to involve Ning Shilu. Without anyone to help, she needed to make long-term plans.
"But what about you, sister? Aren't you with me?" Lin Yue wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, took the package from Lin Zhen's hand, and asked her with wide eyes.
Before Lin Zhen could withdraw his hand, his white fingertips paused slightly in mid-air.
"Zhen'er is staying in the Marquis' Mansion temporarily. If you two are together, it will inevitably attract attention. I will take care of your sister, you can rest assured." Ning Shilu rushed to rescue Lin Zhen. After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Zhen with pity.
"...Let's go." Lin Zhen drooped his eyelashes and said lightly.
Just as the three of them walked around the screen and out of the inner room, Hongye, who had been guarding the door halfway, suddenly ran in in a panic. She nervously grabbed Lin Zhen's arm and said, "Miss, this is bad! I saw a group of the general's guards enter the restaurant. They seemed to be searching for something."
Lin Zhen naturally didn't know that the scene left behind when they left in a hurry caused Ji Bai to misunderstand. She just thought that he was carrying out some mission, but obviously, she couldn't let anyone discover Lin Yue's existence.
As the sound of armored vehicles outside grew louder, Lin Zhen quickly hid Hongye and Lin Yue in the inner closet. She whispered to Hongye, "Take her and hide well."
Almost at the moment when the cabinet door was closed, the door was pushed open heavily. In order to protect Lin Yue, Lin Zhen immediately pulled Ning Shilu to the outer room.
"I am, I am the son of the Yong'an Marquis. How can I allow you to be so rude? Why... why don't you leave!"
Faced with the aggressive silver-armored guards, Ning Shilu felt uneasy and even his orders seemed a little weak.
The leading young general ignored Ning Shilu's words and only signaled his deputy to take out a portrait. After comparing the portrait with Lin Zhen's face, he said sternly, "Prince, I'm sorry."
Lin Zhen and Ning Shilu were detained in the side room until the man in black clothes and silver crown appeared.
His bloodshot eyes, which were about to overflow with hostility, lessened slightly when he saw the woman sitting in the corner.
Ji Sui glanced at the casual clothes Lin Zhen was wearing, Ning Shilu sitting next to her, and the package at her feet.
He slowly knelt down on one knee in front of Lin Zhen. Even though he was certain that she was planning to run away secretly, he still asked her directly: "Lin Zhen, where are you going to escape to?"
Lin Zhen lowered his eyes, avoiding his gaze, and remained silent.
"You are so brave!" Ji Wei suddenly grabbed Lin Zhen's jaw, his tone was cold, and the overwhelming anger seemed to burst out from his dark eyes.
Lin Zhen frowned slightly, and her lips, which were clamped, lost their color. Although Ning Shilu didn't know about Shanglin Garden, he could clearly see that Lin Zhen was not feeling well today. Seeing that her face was not right, he hurriedly spoke to stop her: "Let her go!"
Ji Sui didn't take Ning Shilu's words seriously at all. Although he let go of Lin Zhen's jaw, he turned around and grabbed her wrist, trying to take her away.
Although Ning Shilu didn't know how deep Ji Bai's hatred for Lin Zhen was before, he saw it with his own eyes today. Ji Bai dared to be so presumptuous in front of him. If he really let him take Lin Zhen away, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Ji Sui, stop it!"
Ning Shilu suddenly became angry. He grabbed Ji Bai's arm tightly and prevented him from taking Lin Zhen away.
Ning Shilu's strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree to Ji Sui; it didn't move a muscle. He glanced at Ning Shilu and said sarcastically, "I underestimated you. You didn't have the ability to rescue the people from the Jiaofang Bureau, yet you dared to take them away secretly."
"Come here, the Yong'an Marquis' son, the criminal girl from the Music Bureau, has been released privately. Take her away."
Seeing Lin Zhen being dragged towards the door by him, Ning Shilu's eyes turned bloodshot. He suddenly felt a surge of strength coming from nowhere and broke free from the restraints of the two guards.
Not only that, in a hurry, he took advantage of the chaos and pulled out the sword from the man's waist when the guards had no time to defend themselves.
Ning Shilu held the hilt of the sword with both hands, pointed it straight at Ji Sui, and gritted his teeth and said, "I'll say it again, let her go..."
Hearing this, Ji Wei glanced at him, raised his eyebrows slightly, and actually let go of his hand.
"Zhen'er!" Ning Shilu hurriedly ran towards Lin Zhen and protected her behind him.
Lin Zhen knew that Ning Shilu was no match for Ji Rui. She slowly reached out and pressed his arm, trying to stop him, "Prince..."
"Zhen'er, don't be afraid."
When the Lin family was in trouble, he was unable to stay by Lin Zhen's side, and later, he gave in to his mother's authority and failed to keep his engagement and marry her. Today, he must protect her for once!
Ji Sui looked at the two people leaning against each other in front of him, and a smile slowly curled up at the corner of his mouth. He walked slowly towards Ning Shilu, stretched out his hand to clamp the sword, and pointed the originally crooked blade directly at his heart, "Want to kill me? Come here, it's fatal."
As Ji Sui spoke, he approached Ning Shilu step by step with his iron-embedded military boots.
Marquis Yong'an spent half his life in the military, but his only son was a weak scholar who never dared to touch a sword or gun.
Ning Shilu had never killed a chicken since he was a child, let alone killed anyone. From the moment he grasped the hilt of his sword, his legs, hidden beneath his bamboo-patterned green robe, began to tremble slightly.
The moment the sword touched the man's soft chest, a strange feeling rose in his mind. He only needed to use a little force to break this fragile mortal body, leaving behind a lifeless corpse.
This feeling is undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire for a cruel and ruthless person, and will only make him more excited.
But for Ning Shilu, this thought was enough to drain away all his strength and faith.
"Get started!"
Ji Sui's ruthless voice exploded in his ears, and with a "clang", the long sword in the green-robed man's hand fell to the ground.
His originally resolute eyes became dull and lifeless as the sword fell, and finally, even began to ooze out moisture, and he became dejected and powerless.
Ji Sui sneered contemptuously, then turned around leisurely and said to the guard standing by in shock, "What are you standing there for? Why don't you arrest him?"
The latter was about to step forward, but froze in the next moment. He looked behind Ji Bai in astonishment.
Catching a glimpse of the guard's strange expression, Ji Sui frowned and turned away.
As soon as he turned around, he saw a long sword pointing straight at the center of his heart.
Lin Zhen had stood in front of Ning Shilu without knowing when, half hiding him behind her. Her skin was as white as snow, her faded lips were slightly pursed, and she frowned and said coldly, "Let him go."
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