Chapter 99. He said, "Don't be afraid."
Reason told Feng Mian that she absolutely could not show anything unusual at this moment, and she could not let Luo Chier and the Chen family, who were secretly watching, discover Baili Xunzhou's movements. She should pretend that nothing had happened and remain calm as before.
But her mind was like a boiling lava field, unable to calm down. Her heart was pounding wildly, urging her to get to Baili Xunzhou's side, desperately wanting to see for herself that he was at ease.
She flung open the tightly closed window, pressing her forehead against the cold windowpane, letting the icy wind whip across her face, slowly extinguishing the churning anxiety in her mind. Only when her face was numb with cold did she ask in a slightly hoarse voice, "Where's Uncle? Is he alright?"
Liu Ying and Wu Liu had been by her side since childhood. Although nominally mistress and servant, she had long regarded them as important family members. When the two were worried about Feng Ciyan's various inappropriate words and deeds, Feng Mian secretly told them about her relationship with Feng Ciyan, thus avoiding a misunderstanding. Since then, the two have always covered for the uncle and nephew, making it much easier for Feng Mian to act.
"At the time of the incident, Young Master Fu was on the outer edge of the mine and managed to escape in time, suffering only minor injuries. He is currently trying to find a way to rescue His Highness." To avoid any slips of the tongue, Liu Ying and Wu Liu still referred to Feng Ciyan as "Young Master Fu" in private.
Seeing that Feng Mian's expression had softened slightly, Wu Liu gently advised, "Princess, please take care of your health. If His Highness returns safely only to find that you are ill, wouldn't he be even more distressed?"
As she spoke, she tentatively placed her hand on the window frame. Seeing that Feng Mian did not stop her, she quickly closed the window to block out the cold wind. Feng Mian's nose was already red from the cold; if she were exposed to the wind any longer, she might catch a cold.
On the way back, Feng Mian remained silent, leaning against the car window, his gaze fixed blankly on something, lost in thought.
When the carriage arrived at the Prince's residence, she stumbled as she alighted, nearly falling. Fortunately, Liuying and Wuliu were waiting on either side of the carriage and caught her in time.
Feng Mian steadied himself and walked towards the gate of the mansion. "Is Mother in the mansion?"
"The princess went out to visit friends today and has not yet returned to the residence."
"Alright, don't tell Mother about this yet." She can't even bear it now; if the Princess gets the news, the sky will probably fall.
Just then, a maid stepped forward and reported, "Princess, the young marquis has been waiting in the courtyard for quite some time."
Feng Mian composed herself and stepped into the main hall of the Hidden Bow Academy, where she saw Chu Jingqi excitedly greeting her with a small bow in hand. "Little cousin, look! Mi Tu also gave me a holiday gift..."
His rising tone plummeted when he saw Feng Mian's expression. "What happened?"
Feng Mian, who had just managed a forced smile, was taken aback. She hadn't expected that Chu Jingqi would see through her disguise at a glance.
She hesitated, opening her mouth as if to find an excuse to cover it up, but saw that Chu Jingqi had hurriedly put the small bow in his hand on the table beside him, ran to close the door with a "bang", and then ran back to pull her to sit down on the chair, looking at her with a worried expression.
"I've never seen you so distraught. Did something happen to Xiao Baili?" Seeing her hesitation, Chu Jingqi realized something and considerately added, "If it needs to be kept secret, you don't need to tell me what happened. Just tell me what to do, and I'll figure something out!"
Feng Mian's nose tingled, and tears welled up in her eyes, "Ninth Brother..."
She blinked her wet eyelashes and selectively recounted the news of the mine collapse and the burial of Baili Xunzhou.
Chu Jingqi didn't ask her why she wanted to investigate the mine. When she heard that she couldn't let Luo Chier and the Chen family find out about this, but she was really worried and wanted to go to the site to take a look, he immediately patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me, you wait at the manor!"
He rushed to the door but then turned back, solemnly changing his words, "No, you go to the front hall of the Prince's Mansion and wait for me!"
Watching his retreating figure, Feng Mian sat there wiping away her tears. After pouring out her heart, the heavy weight on her chest seemed to lighten a bit, but she wondered how Chu Jingqi planned to help her.
A moment later, Feng Mian sat in the front hall, chin in hand, lost in thought. A series of ghostly wails came from the street outside, earth-shattering and approaching like a gust of wind, rushing into the palace.
"Please, little cousin, just come with me!"
Everyone on the street heard Chu Jingqi's wail, and they peeked out and whispered among themselves.
"What's going on? What's wrong with the young master? Why is he crying like this?"
"It sounds like he's heartbroken and lovesick, and wants to go to the Canglang tribe to see his beloved, but Princess Qin won't allow him to go, so he came to ask our Princess to accompany him."
"Tsk, a grown man, crying and whining over this?"
"Hey, you know what kind of temperament this young marquis has..."
As everyone watched as Feng Mian was half-pushed and half-invited by Chu Jingqi to get into the carriage, they all shook their heads and sighed, "Our princess is too soft-hearted after all; she couldn't resist the young marquis's tearful pleas."
"After all, he's my brother by blood, so I'll help if I can. I went to join the fun at the trade market before, and I noticed that the Holy Maiden of the Canglang Tribe didn't give the young marquis a good look, but she was quite friendly with our princess. I reckon the young marquis is afraid that he won't be able to see the Holy Maiden if he goes to the Canglang Tribe, so he came here specifically to ask for help!"
"Young Master Marquis, you really are... willing to go to any lengths to pursue a girl..."
"So, are we going to form a marriage alliance with the Canglang tribe?"
"..."
The whispers of the people quickly spread throughout the entire street.
On the second floor of a street corner teahouse, in the shadow cast by the eaves, a man stood with his hands behind his back, watching the carriage carrying Feng Ming and Chu Jingqi drive away.
A guard quietly approached him from behind and whispered, "Sir, should we send someone to follow and check?"
Luo Chier's expression was unreadable as he slowly withdrew his gaze. "No need. Keeping an eye on Her Highness the Princess is not my job."
He flicked his sleeve and sat down at the tea table behind him. "How is Gu Chunwen doing?"
"As usual, there was nothing unusual, and he hadn't met the princess. It's just that ever since he dined with the lord last time, Commander Lu has been looking at him with displeasure."
Luo Chier scoffed, his eyes full of mockery towards Commander Lu: "Hmph, fool."
On the other side, after the carriage drove away from the gate of Yunzhong County, Chu Jingqi immediately stopped talking, covered his neck with one hand because he had exerted too much force, pointed to the teacup with the other hand, and said in a hoarse voice, "Water, quick, quickly pour me a cup of water."
Feng Mian handed him a warm teacup, and he gulped down several cups before he recovered.
"Now they'll definitely think you went with me to the Canglang tribe." He cleared his hoarse throat. "Little cousin, just tell the driver where you want to go."
After saying that, he added very considerately, "If there is any inconvenience, I will wait for you nearby."
“It’s alright, let’s go together.” Feng Mian pulled out several heavy black cloaks from the carriage. “We just need to disguise ourselves to avoid being noticed.”
With Qingyi leading the way, the group, traveling light, finally arrived at the mine at dusk the following day.
The snow had just stopped, and the afterglow of the sunset shrouded the collapsed mine, leaving a pale, blood-red stain. Feng Mian and the others, their bodies covered by cloaks, trudged up the mountain, following the faint clanging sounds to the completely buried mine.
The snow covered large areas of the mess, and the dull smell of blood and gunpowder still lingered in the air.
Around the mine shaft, where rubble lay scattered everywhere, servants disguised as ordinary workers were frantically clearing away the rocks burying the vein with scabbards, shovels, and even their bare hands, searching for any sign of life.
The heart, which had been sealed in slumber, trembled more and more violently. The icy air chilled it to the bone, and the heavy steps made it difficult to move forward.
"Young Master Fu," Qingyi called out as she stepped forward.
A tall figure stood up and looked over. She immediately recognized Feng Mian, who was wrapped in a cloak. Her pupils contracted, and she strode forward, her voice urgent: "Why are you here?"
As Feng Ciyan spoke, he looked at Qingyi with disapproval, clearly blaming him.
"It was my insistence that I come." Feng Mian hurriedly spoke up, her gaze sweeping over Feng Ciyan from head to toe without missing a beat.
The torches hanging from the trees illuminated Feng Ciyan's disheveled state. His face was stained with large patches of gray and black, his eyes were dark, and he looked exhausted, clearly having not rested well for a long time, but he seemed to be able to move freely. Feng Mian first breathed a sigh of relief, then grabbed his arm and asked breathlessly, "Where's A-Zhuo?"
"...It hasn't been found yet."
Feng Mian's legs, already sore from climbing, suddenly lost all strength, and she stumbled, nearly falling to her knees.
Feng Ciyan quickly helped her up and comforted her in a hoarse voice, "There's still time. As long as we find him within two days, there's still hope."
Feng Mian nodded haphazardly, wiping away the tears on her cheeks. She looked around, took in the number of people involved in the rescue, and frowned: "Just this many people? Their own mine collapsed, and the Chen family didn't send anyone to rescue them?"
“The entire mine has a strong smell of gunpowder, and I’ve also found traces of deliberate ignition nearby these past two days.” Feng Ciyan’s eyes burned with anger. “The Chen family has clearly abandoned this mine and the lives of these miners.”
Feng Mian paused, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, "It seems they've already noticed something and want to destroy the evidence..."
Feng Mian immediately made a decision, "Then we don't need to hide anymore. Qingyi, go and mobilize troops from the vicinity immediately, under the pretext of mine disaster rescue, mobilize as many as you can."
He accepted the order and left.
At this moment, a miner was carried out of the mine, screaming in pain and bleeding profusely from his wound. Upon seeing this, Chu Jingqi immediately stepped forward and said, "There are still many wound medicines in the car. I'll go and get them!"
As he spoke, he pulled Mo Song along and ran towards the carriage, stumbling along the way.
Several rescued miners lay side by side under a tree not far from the mine. Feng Mian hurried over to check on them. Having brought no doctor on this trip, she, Liu Ying, and Wu Liu took on the task of bandaging their wounds.
As night deepened and the air grew increasingly cold, her ten fingers, frozen stiff, refused to rest. She kept an eye on the injured miners while constantly glancing towards the cave entrance.
No one has been rescued from the mine for a long time.
"There's a sound here!"
Someone cried out in surprise from the other side of the mine, and everyone heard a faint knocking sound coming from under a pile of stones.
Feng Ciyan immediately stepped forward and, together with several guards, pried the boulder.
A miner who was almost frozen was dragged out, followed by a second, a third... but the most familiar figure was nowhere to be seen.
The sealed heart sank little by little, and the nails dug deeply into the palm.
Just as she was about to be swallowed by despair, a hand covered in mud but with distinct knuckles suddenly reached out from the deepest crevice in the rock and tightly gripped the wrist of the guard who was trying to save her.
"A-Zhuo!"
Feng Mian recognized the hands at a glance. She rushed to the pile of stones and helped move the rubble with trembling hands, completely unaware of the bloody cuts on her hands.
As she cleared a hole large enough for one person to pass through, she finally saw a familiar face with its eyes closed through the flickering firelight.
His face was covered in dust and bloodstains, and because he had been in the dark for so long, he kept his eyes closed to avoid being burned by the sudden light.
He heard Feng Mian's voice and turned his head slightly in her direction.
Snowflakes began to fall again, gently settling on his bloodstained brows and eyelashes. His pale lips moved slightly.
No sound was made.
But Feng Mian saw it clearly.
He said, "Don't be afraid."
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