Chapter 498 No Need for Your Care
Ten miles west of Annan County, there is a marriage temple. It is said that the marriage signs here are particularly effective.
Men and women who have asked for fortune will always meet their destined partner within three months.
Jiang Luli stood in front of the temple with a girl wearing a moon-white dress and a conical hat.
The gauze curtain of the girl's hat was hanging down, so her face could not be seen clearly, only a part of her white neck was exposed.
The two entered the temple one after the other. Jiang Luli bowed to the statue on the altar in a steady and unhurried manner, but the girl seemed a little embarrassed. She held the hem of her skirt with both hands. When she bent down, the gauze curtain shook, and she hurriedly grabbed it with her hands.
After worshipping the gods, they walked towards the woods behind the temple.
The fallen leaves rustled under my feet, and occasionally a bird would fly away from the branches.
As I was walking under an old locust tree, I suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind me.
A group of men in black rushed out from behind the trees, the knives in their hands flashing coldly in the sunlight.
"Attack!" The leading man in black shouted and slashed his knife directly at Jiang Luli.
Jiang Luli was prepared. He dodged to the side and drew out his soft sword, and the blade swept across the opponent's wrist.
The girl seemed to be frightened. She screamed, turned around and ran towards the back mountain. She didn't care that her skirt was caught on the branches, and stumbled into the dense forest.
"You guys hold him back! I'll go after that girl." The man in black who met Jiang Luli last night swung a knife to force back a secret guard and then took the lead to chase after him.
The girl ran very fast and soon disappeared.
The men in black chased after them relentlessly, and their figures soon disappeared in the dense shadows of the trees.
Seeing this, the remaining assassins surrounded Jiang Luli like crazy.
Jiang Luli's eyes darkened, and he danced with his soft sword tightly, aiming at the vital points with every move.
He had to keep these people here and never let them go to meet his accomplices.
The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed in the woods, and soon, several bodies were lying on the ground.
On the other side, the girl in the conical hat stopped at a fern-covered valley, her chest heaving violently.
She raised her hand and took off her hat, revealing a familiar face.
It was Zheng Qinghe. Her face was still painted with makeup, and if you took a closer look, you could tell she was a really pretty girl.
At this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed and his ears were very red.
The man in black who had caught up with him stood three steps away, looking him up and down with a half-smile, his tone full of teasing. "I didn't expect Lord Zheng to have such a habit."
Zheng Qinghe's face turned pale and then quickly turned the color of liver.
Who has this fetish!
It’s just bad luck that you lost the rock-paper-scissors game!
He waved back, and a secret guard suddenly appeared and stuffed the brocade box that had been prepared long ago into the hands of the man in black.
"Here you go! Go! Remember what you promised, and keep your word!"
The man in black took the brocade box and was nonchalant at first, but when he opened it, he froze.
His fingers gripping the edge of the box trembled slightly. He looked up at Zheng Qinghe with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. "Did you...really kill Gu Jiayue?"
"What nonsense!" Zheng Qinghe wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. He glanced at the women's clothes on his body and stamped his feet anxiously, "Take it and get out!"
He was afraid that passers-by would pass by, so he hurriedly put on his hat again, covering his face with a gauze curtain, leaving only his tightly pursed lips exposed.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more, the man in black stopped asking questions.
At first he was worried that this group of people were trying to fool people with a fake head.
But the head in the box had the same eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth as Gu Jiayue, and even the small teardrop mole at the corner of the eye was clearly visible.
He weighed the brocade box. No matter how he did it, as long as he took the head back, his subsequent plans would be able to proceed smoothly.
"Let's go, Lord Zheng, oh no, Miss Zheng." The man in black suppressed his laughter and turned to walk down the mountain.
Halfway through the journey, he opened the brocade box and took out the head. Seeing that the head was too clean to look like it had just been chopped off, he turned and went back into the nearby woods.
Not long after, he came out with a bleeding hare and smeared the rabbit's blood on the neck of the human head until the skin became sticky. Then, satisfied, he held the head's hair and swaggered down the mountain, shouting, "Retreat!"
At that command, the thugs besieging Jiang Luli immediately withdrew their attacks, and after a few feints, they retreated one after another, their movements as fast as the receding tide.
In just a few breaths, only Jiang Luli and the corpses on the ground were left in the woods.
The man in black walked out of the temple area with his men before slowly stopping.
His men frequently stole glances at the head in his hand. The bloody appearance made their scalps tingle. Some of them couldn't help but turn their heads away, their stomachs churning.
"The boss is really awesome." A short thug swallowed his saliva, his voice trembling, "No wonder the Grand Master values you... This kind of skills is something that ordinary people really can't learn." He looked at the bloody head, as if he could imagine the girl's pain before her death.
Another thug took off his coat and handed it over, feigning composure. "Boss, wrap it up with this. It's not good if someone sees you."
The man in black glanced at him and thrust the head towards him: "Take it, and we'll return to the capital to report."
"Boss, why not wait two more days? What if... they are cheating?" someone asked in a low voice.
The man in black turned his head suddenly and thrust the head in front of him, his eyes as cold as ice. "I chopped off the head myself, and you question me?"
The subordinate was so frightened that he fell to his knees, his forehead touching the dirt. "I dare not! I dare not!"
"Hmph, let's go back to Beijing!" The man in black shook his sleeves and walked forward first.
"Yes!" A group of people followed quickly. The few drops of blood dripping on the grass were quickly blown dry by the wind, as if no one had ever been here.
Jiang Luli stood there for a while, and only after confirming that there were no more spies around did he turn around and walk towards the back mountain.
In the back valley, Zheng Qinghe was squatting in front of the fire, throwing the moon-white dress into the flames.
The flames crackled and licked the fabric, illuminating his face in flickering light.
He used a branch to stir the ashes, his movements quick and fierce, as if he was venting something.
"Is it done?" Jiang Luli walked over and kicked the empty hat next to him.
Zheng Qinghe looked up, his face still stained with black ash, and said in a very aggressive tone. "Yeah."
When he thought about being called Miss Zheng just now, he felt uncomfortable all over and even his ears were burning.
The life-threatening matter was temporarily resolved, but what Gu Jiayue was most concerned about was Taohua Village.
The school is already short of teachers. She and Jiang Luli have been in the county town these days, and the teachers must be very busy. If they delay the children's homework, she will feel guilty.
"I want to go back to Taohua Village today."
"Your injury hasn't healed yet. Why don't you rest for a few more days?" Zheng Qinghe hurriedly tried to persuade him to stay, his eyes unconsciously glancing at Gu Mingyue beside him with a hint of barely perceptible reluctance.
Gu Jiayue's mind was as clear as a mirror.
He was not keeping himself, it was obvious that he couldn't bear to leave Yue'er.
She turned to Gu Mingyue and asked, "Yue'er, will you come back to Taohua Village with me?"
"Yes!" Gu Mingyue nodded without thinking, her eyes shining like stars.
Zheng Qinghe's mouth corners curled down slightly, and a sense of loss surged in his heart.
It seems that in Yue'er's heart, she is still not as good as Gu Jiayue.
"Then I'll send a carriage to take you there," he said, forcing himself to speak as naturally as possible. "Once I've finished my business in the county, I'll go to Taohua Village to see you."
Jiang Luli watched from the side and felt that Zheng Qinghe had been acting very strangely over the past two days.
In the past, his eyes were always on Gu Jiayue, but these past two days, everything he said and did revolved around the newcomer Gu Mingyue.
Could it be that this guy gave up because he knew he couldn't catch up with Gu Jiayue, so he turned to pursue her sister?
That wouldn't be bad. Without a strong opponent, my chances of winning would be better.
He patted Zheng Qinghe's shoulder, which was rare. "Don't worry, I will help you take good care of Miss Mingyue."
Zheng Qinghe shook his hand off, his face flushing again. "No need for you to take care of her!" He turned to Gu Jiayue and said in a softer tone, "Jiayue, please take care of Yue'er."
"She's my sister, I'll naturally take care of her," Gu Jiayue replied, her eyes a bit serious. "You should focus on the county affairs first. Yue'er has a lot to learn after returning to the village, so I'm afraid she won't have time to think about anything else. You... should come less often."
It's not that she is unkind, she is just putting herself in the shoes of her elder sister.
In her eyes, although Zheng Qinghe is a good person, her old mother, who is said to be extremely difficult to get along with, will probably not easily accept Yue'er.
Her sister can't marry him and suffer injustice.
If it really doesn't work out, the worst that can happen is I can find a good family for Yue'er.
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