Chapter 57 Buried in Flames: His beloved was reduced to ashes. ...
Meng Yu rushed back to Qingli Courtyard and saw that Aunt Shen's lips were pale and she looked extremely tired. She even had difficulty opening her eyes. A basin of water beside the bed was stained red with blood, and Yan'er had not yet had time to take it out.
She panicked and hurriedly checked her pulse. The moment her fingertips touched her pulse, her face turned deathly pale.
The pulse was weak and almost nonexistent; it was already too late to reverse the situation.
Meng Yu looked at Aunt Shen in disbelief, tears streaming down her face.
She had taken her pulse just over a month ago, so when did she become so ill? Why didn't she know?
Countless questions flooded her mind, and though the words were on her lips, Meng Yu found herself unable to ask them.
As if sensing her arrival, Aunt Shen slowly opened her eyes, her voice barely audible: "Yu'er, I know you have many, many questions. I have written down the answers to all of them on paper, and they are placed in the first compartment of the dressing table."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yu hurriedly got up and reached out to take it, but Aunt Chen said, "Don't look at that yet. Open the bottom layer first and take out the contents of the box."
Her fingertips touched the first layer. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed Aunt Chen's instructions, lowering her hand to the bottom, taking out the box inside, and opening it.
It turned out to be a bamboo talisman and a travel permit.
The name on the bamboo tally reads "Xi Yunhe".
Meng Yu looked up at Aunt Chen with a shocked expression.
She leaned against the headboard, coughed lightly, and as if she could see Meng Yu's future, a slight smile finally appeared on her pale face: "This is the new identity that I asked Miss Ning to prepare for you."
Even though they were so close, Meng Yu felt as if Aunt Chen's voice was coming from afar, carrying her longing and hope for the future: "Now that Huaiyin has become a princess, your mother is also leaving. Yu'er, go! Leave this place and live the life you want. Don't stop for anyone anymore."
Her eyes welled up with tears. She had a thousand words to say, but when she tried to raise her hand, she couldn't utter a single sign.
She had just put away the bamboo tally and travel permit when a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Your humble servant greets the princess."
"Please rise, Lord Meng."
As soon as Huaiyin finished speaking, the half-closed door was pushed open.
Meng Yanqing stepped in, frowned, and said to Meng Yu in a serious tone, "You go out first. I want to have a word with your aunt alone."
Meng Yu glanced at Aunt Shen, and seeing her nod, she retreated to stand guard outside the door.
The door was closed ajar again. Meng Yanqing pulled up a chair and sat down beside her bed. He glanced at the figure leaning against the door and then looked back at Aunt Chen: "You raised such a fine daughter. She is clever and cunning, with a deep mind. Even I, her father, could not have seen that she could act so well. She is not as timid and dull as she appears on the surface."
Aunt Shen looked at him coldly, forcing herself to speak, "Her apparent cowardice and dullness are her protective shield. Otherwise, how could she have grown up under Madam Yuan's care? Like my unborn child, like her voice."
"You..." Meng Yanqing's face darkened as she choked him. He was about to curse her, but when he saw that her lips were pale and her eyes, which had once been full of colorful light, had turned gray, he realized that the bright girl in his memory, who wore flowers and danced in the morning sun, had disappeared without him noticing.
He suppressed his temper and instead chuckled, "I always thought you were gentle and charming, but I never knew you were so quick-witted."
"That's because you've never truly understood me."
Meng Yanqing retorted again, then sighed, "These are all old, trivial matters. What's the point of bringing them up now? Besides, it was that old woman's fault that you miscarried back then, and I sold her off. As for Yu'er's voice, if she hadn't been so playful and insisted on going to the pond, would she have fallen into the water? And would she have gotten sick and damaged her voice?"
Even now, he still tries to deny all the blame. Aunt Shen gave him a cold look, not wanting to sully her eyes any longer, so she turned her head away, closed her eyes, and said wearily, "Go! I have nothing to say to you."
Her look of disgust was so undisguised that Meng Yanqing felt a lump in her throat again. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered her purpose here and turned back, softening her tone: "Yin'er has gone mad, which is her just desserts. Could you please beg Yu'er to let Yin'er come back?"
Aunt Shen didn't open her eyes, and weakly retorted, "What she did to Yu'er is something that she will never be forgiven for in this lifetime."
"You're about to die, and you're still so stubborn." Seeing that there was no hope, Meng Yanqing spat at her. When he saw that she was listless and didn't say anything more, he immediately darkened his face, pushed the door open heavily, and left in a huff.
The house was poorly soundproofed, and Meng Yu was sitting close by. When Aunt Chen and Meng Yanqing were talking, they didn't muffle their voices, so every word of their conversation reached her ears.
The question that had been lingering in her mind seemed to be answered in an instant. Even without reading the letter she left behind, Meng Yu could guess the gist of it.
As they went inside, Aunt Shen had already closed her eyes, a smile on her lips, and a peaceful expression, as if she had guessed something. Meng Yu's hand trembled as she reached up to touch the tip of her nose.
For a moment, silent tears welled up in her eyes.
She took out the letter from the cabinet, glanced at it briefly, and the moment each word entered her eyes, it felt as if a bit of her strength had been drained away.
Sunlight shone on the eaves, scattering colorful patterns. Meng Yu collapsed in tears beside Aunt Shen's bed, and the candles were lit.
***
When news of the fire at Qingli Courtyard and Meng Yu being inside reached the outskirts of the city, Lu Xiuyi happened to have hunted a snow leopard. The snow leopard was only lame and otherwise unharmed.
His face turned pale instantly. He didn't care about anything else and ordered his men to release it back into the mountains immediately. Without even reporting to Emperor Jinghuai, he spurred his horse straight into the city.
Wisps of black smoke drifted slowly into the void, gradually merging with the clouds and being slowly swallowed up.
When Lu Xiuyi arrived, most of Qingli Courtyard had already been burned down. The raging firelight reflected on his pale face, and Huaiyin's heart-wrenching cries echoed in his ears. Maids and servants hurried back and forth carrying buckets of water.
He paused for a moment, then immediately snatched the bucket of water from the passing servant, poured it over his head and feet, tore off a piece of his soaked clothes to cover his mouth and nose, threw the bucket aside, and was about to rush in.
Chu Ze hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and advised him urgently, "Young master, the fire is too big. If you rush in, you might even perish inside."
"Get out of my way, I don't care about that anymore."
"The girl is in her aunt's room."
Huaiyin's choked words rang out at the same time, and Lu Xiuyi kicked Chuze away and rushed into the sea of fire in the blink of an eye.
"boom!"
The burning pillar at the entrance suddenly collapsed, blocking the way out.
Chu Ze's expression hardened, and he commanded the maids and servants carrying buckets of water: "Quickly, put out the fire here first."
People carried buckets of water and poured it over the fire. The cold water extinguished the fire, and dozens of people worked together to move the pillar away.
The fire started in the side room where Aunt Shen lived. Because the row of houses was connected, the fire spread quickly.
Lu Xiuyi rushed in. The fire had burned the room so badly that it was almost unrecognizable. Fire was burning everywhere, and thick smoke was right in front of him. He covered his mouth and nose and first looked around the windowsill, but he couldn't find anyone.
He then stepped over the fallen pillars and tiles, intending to run towards the tatami mat.
In the distance, a dark mass on the ground suddenly came into view. A hairpin swayed in the corner, its golden light standing out against the dark clothes.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a filigree and beaded Lingxiao gold hairpin.
***
After the fire was extinguished, two charred corpses were carried out of Qingli Courtyard. Although their original faces were unrecognizable, people could still vaguely identify them as Aunt Shen and the Third Miss by their figures.
Huaiyin cried until she fainted.
The young Marquis Lu, whom everyone avoided and feared, went mad on the spot.
He held the charred corpse, tears streaming down his face, refusing to let go. Chu Ze, unable to bear it any longer, put his arm around his shoulder and softly advised, "Young master, the lady has passed away. Let her rest in peace!"
"Get away! She's not dead! She won't die!" Lu Xiuyi violently shook off his hand, ignoring the charred remains on his clothes, and tightly hugged the corpse, choking back sobs.
Upon hearing his words, everyone looked at each other in shock.
The body was burned to a crisp, how could the third girl still be alive?
Because of Meng Yin's madness, Madam Yuan lay on her sickbed for a long time until she heard Deng Mama come and go, and that the two little bitches in Qingli Courtyard had perished in the fire. The phlegm stuck in her chest instantly dissipated completely.
"If you ask me, those two, mother and daughter, deserved it. Master had just humbled himself and begged them to be lenient and spare Fourth Miss, but instead they chased him out with a broom."
Thinking of Aunt Shen and Meng Yu being burned to a crisp, Mother Deng looked smug.
Madam Yuan's appetite improved, and she leisurely sipped the chicken soup: "We don't need to worry about Third Sister's funeral arrangements, but you must handle Aunt Shen's funeral properly, so that no one thinks we mistreated her."
Madam Deng smiled and curtsied, "Yes, even if Madam didn't mention it, this old servant would keep a close eye on things."
Lu Xiuyi sat in front of Qingli Courtyard for three days and three nights without eating or drinking anything. It wasn't until Emperor Jinghuai arrived and ordered his men to forcibly separate him from the corpse and knock him unconscious with a single blow that he was finally allowed to rest for a while.
To prevent him from digging up the grave after waking up, Emperor Jinghuai ordered the body to be burned on the spot, and the ashes to be collected, put into a box, and secretly taken to the deep mountains and buried in an unknown place.
To prevent Lu Xiuyi from going mad, Emperor Jinghuai only said that after the ashes were burned, a north wind blew, and before they could be collected, they scattered in the wind.
The person he loved most was reduced to ashes.
Upon waking up and learning the news, Lu Xiuyi fell ill and remained bedridden for more than three months.
***
After reading the letter that day, Meng Yu collapsed in tears beside Aunt Shen's bed. A short while later, the roof was lifted off, and a ladder slowly descended to the ground.
Ning Sui appeared before them carrying a corpse on her back.
Meng Yu didn't ask any more questions. She immediately wiped away her tears, arranged the scene for Ning Sui, climbed the ladder, and then pushed the candles over.
Huaiyin and Yan'er were sent away, and when they returned, Qingli Courtyard was already engulfed in flames with unstoppable force.
Ning Sui secretly put Meng Yu on the carriage at night. The driver was a member of the Ning family and could be trusted.
The wind was biting cold, but the car was warmed by the charcoal brazier.
The two stood beside the carriage. Ning Sui wrapped Meng Yu in a cloak, looked at her face with many fine lines, and gently instructed, "Be careful on the way, and don't go back."
As parting was imminent, tears welled up in Meng Yu's eyes, and she reached out to raise her hand.
Ning Sui quickly raised her hand to gently block her, and sighed deeply: "I know what you want to say, needless to say. The fewer people who know about this, the better for you. You just need to know that no matter where you are or what happens, there are always people here who care about you, and that is enough."
The night was cold and the north wind blew against her face, freezing the tears that Meng Yu hadn't had time to shed.
She waved, boarded the carriage, lifted the curtain, and watched Ning Sui's figure recede further and further away from her.
When leaving the city, it was almost curfew.
The city guard, sporting dark circles under his eyes, yawned and briefly checked Meng Yu's bamboo talisman and travel permit. Seeing that there were no problems, he let him pass.
After the driver took her to the ferry crossing twenty miles outside the city, he handed her the bundle that Ning Sui had prepared.
"Here are three hundred taels of silver and fifty taels of loose silver, along with a few winter clothes and a small knife for self-defense. These are prepared for you by our young lady. As a young lady traveling alone, there are too many uncertainties on the road. Having a weapon for self-defense will give you peace of mind. The three hundred taels are for you to have some capital if you want to settle down when you arrive. The boat departs at dawn tomorrow. There are shelters there for travelers waiting for the boat. You can stay there for the night and board the boat early tomorrow morning."
Overwhelmed with complex emotions, Meng Yu took the bundle with trembling hands, nodded, and bowed to the driver to express her gratitude.
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