The results of the provincial examination have not come out yet, the cheating issue has not been resolved, and the Imperial Examination Hall is still guarded by the Imperial Guards, and no one is allowed to enter.
The situation was at a critical moment. If the Eighth Princess ignored the guards at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall and sent A'ruan, who was looking for his wife, in openly, this would be another handle that would be easily used by someone with ulterior motives.
If the censors had a quarrel, the matter might have been serious and the accusation might have been that the person had disrespected the imperial authority after returning from military merit.
Since Feng Yu promised to let A'ruan meet his wife, he would naturally not just leave him here and let him find a way to get in by himself.
The guards took A'ruan around the alley and went out the back door, where the guards were lax and only the people going in and out were strangers delivering things to the Imperial Examination Hall, so even if more people went in, it wouldn't attract much attention.
"This is Wei Min's husband, who has come a long way to find his wife," the guard pointed at A'ruan standing beside him and said to the head of the military service guarding the gate in a low voice, "Old Jin agreed."
The soldier glanced at A'ruan, with an embarrassed look on his face. He also lowered his voice and said, "You don't know, ever since the incident of a candidate being taken away a few days ago, the inspections in the Imperial Examination Hall have become more strict. People entering and leaving are carefully checked for fear of another accident."
The guard took out a silver ingot from his bosom and put it into the soldier's hand. "I have also received an order. Please help me."
The soldier weighed the silver in his hand, struggled for a moment, and finally put the money in his arms, and said with relief, "He can go in, but he can't just go in like this."
For Aruan, as long as he can get in, he doesn't care how to get in.
After the guard received the guarantee of military service, he turned to A'ruan and said, "My mission is complete here. I will just follow her arrangements for the rest of the time."
Ah Ruan thanked the guard again and again. After the guard left, the soldier said to Ah Ruan, "Wait a moment."
It was almost noon, and the cook who had gone out to buy groceries just came back with a cart. The soldier reached out and grabbed her, saying, "Get him an identity card to go in, and it would be best if he could see—"
Bingyi was stuck in his words and couldn't help but turn around and ask Aruan, "What's your wife's name?"
A Ruan hurriedly pulled out the note written by Feng Yu from his sleeve. On it were written two big characters in a sharp handwriting: Wei Min.
Not everyone can understand sign language, so for convenience, A Ruan asked Feng Yu to write down his wife's name.
"Yes, Wei Min." The soldier raised his hand and patted the cook's shoulder, hooked her neck, and whispered: "This person was greeted by Elder Jin, but there are also people from the imperial concubines in it, so you can't do it too obviously, understand?"
The cook nodded.
After all, she had received the money. Bingyi seemed to remember something and asked again, "Didn't your kitchen manager get arrested? If this is done well..." She stopped talking halfway and said in an ambiguous tone, "You know."
The cook's eyes lit up immediately, and he bowed and smiled flatteringly, "I understand, I understand. Don't worry, sir. When this young man goes in, I will definitely take care of him as if he were my own father."
The soldier sneered, patted her on the shoulder and told her to go about her business.
A Ruan followed the cook into the kitchen.
The cook wanted to be the manager, so he took extra care of A'ruan.
The cook in the kitchen saw a stranger and couldn't help but tease the cook, "Hey, why did you bring a man in when you went out? Who is this?"
The cook said vaguely, "We don't have enough manpower. I'll ask my husband's brother to help. Is that not okay? Why are you talking so much? Go get to work."
Having said this, he drove the man away.
In addition to the manager of the kitchen, several cooks and servants who delivered meals to the candidates were also arrested. There is indeed a shortage of manpower here now.
The cook didn't want others to compete with him for the position of manager, so he made up an identity for Ah Ruan.
A'ruan was assigned by the cook to deliver meals to the candidates. After lunch was ready, he carried the food boxes and delivered them to the examination rooms one by one.
Nowadays, there is an iron gate outside the examination room. Apart from that, the room is fully equipped with everything. Except that they cannot go out, the candidates are not wronged.
The cook had already found out everything, and he secretly told Ah Ruan, "I've already found out for you. There will be a quarter-hour break for the rotation of soldiers at the entrance of the examination hall at noon. I will find a way for you to deliver food to your wife herself, but if you see soldiers, you must leave immediately, understand?"
Although it was Master Jin who made the overreaction, the people who were ordered to deal with the cheating in the Imperial Examinations included Master Jin and the Princess Royal.
Ah Ruan knew that this opportunity was not easy to come by, so he nodded quickly to show that he understood.
Two food boxes, with vegetables on top and rice on the bottom, were placed across his arms. They were extremely heavy, making every step difficult for Aruan.
On the one hand, he was so eager to see his wife that he wanted to run over, but on the other hand, he was timid and afraid, fearing that he would see his wife really covered in scars like in his dream...
My heart was tormented and tortured along this short journey, until I stopped in front of an examination hall.
Before A'ruan even saw anyone, her eyes turned red and she kept crying silently through the fence and door.
There was only a quarter of an hour left, and Ah Ruan was afraid of delaying the meeting between them, so she quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeves, raised her hand through the gap in the fence and knocked on the closed door in front of her.
After he patted it twice, a familiar voice came out from inside, cold and emotionless, "Put it on the ground first."
As soon as A Ruan heard Wei Min's voice, the tears that had just stopped fell again. She felt an indescribable feeling in her heart, with worry and longing condensed together. It was not until she heard her voice at this moment that the heart that had been hanging for more than a month finally settled down.
Ah Ruan sobbed and knocked on the door twice.
"Put it on the ground first." Although Wei Min's tone in the room was a little more impatient than before, he still didn't get angry.
A Ruan looked down and saw that there was indeed a hole under the fence gate that was just big enough for the dishes to pass through.
But he came to see her, not just to bring her food...
A Ruan was a little annoyed that he was a mute. If he could speak, his wife would have opened the door to meet him long ago.
A Ruan pursed her lips and raised her hand to knock on the door again.
Wei Min was injured and spent most of his time lying in bed. He had no appetite to eat and didn't want to get up to open the door.
When Old Jin broke into the prison of the Ministry of Justice that day, the Minister of Justice was just about to throw water on her to wake her up from pretending to faint. Before that, she was still tortured. Although her life was not in danger, it cost her half her life, which was enough for her to lie in bed for a while.
Afterwards, the emperor sent Fengyu to treat the injuries of the punished scholar, and used good medicines. Wei Min felt better and was able to get out of bed and walk around in the past two days.
Wei Min lay on his side on the bed, listening to the persistent knocking on the door outside, frowning impatiently.
In the past, she would just ask people to leave the food at the door, why is it different today? It seemed that the knocking would not stop unless she opened the door.
Wei Min sighed helplessly, got out of bed and put on his shoes in compromise. She covered the wound on her chest with one hand and walked very slowly.
"I told you to put it outside..." Wei Min opened the door and saw the person standing outside the gate with tears streaming down his face. The words he had not yet finished speaking got stuck in his throat and he couldn't utter them.
Wei Min subconsciously released his hands from his chest, took a step forward and grabbed the iron bars, stared at A Ruan, and moved his lips.
She was not sure whether she was dreaming or just asleep. How come when she opened the door she saw her A Ruan who was far away in Qinghe Village?
Wei Min's throat tightened and he reached out his hand tentatively towards A'ruan.
A Ruan quickly raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, forced a smile at Wei Min, and actively put her face against her palm, rubbing it gently.
Wei Min stood there in a daze, until he felt the warmth and wetness in the palm of his hand, then he realized that this was not a dream, but that A Ruan was really here.
"you……"
Wei Min's fingers were shaking as he stroked A'ruan's face, and his voice was choked and hoarse. He stretched out his hands from the iron bars to hold up his haggard and thin face and look at it.
Wei Min had a lot of questions to ask and many things she wanted to know, but now she couldn't say a word. She just stared blankly at A'ruan's tear-stained face.
How did he make the long journey from Qinghe Village to the capital?
How much suffering and pain did I endure along the way...
Wei Min felt that he didn't dare to think about it, nor did he dare to ask. He just wanted to hold his face and look at him. He could never look enough.
A Ruan also looked at Wei Min carefully, and seeing her pale face and smelling a faint smell of medicine on her body, she knew that what happened in the dream was probably true.
A Ruan put her hand on the back of Wei Min's hand that was against his face, sobbed silently with heartache, and buried her face in her palm.
Ah Ruan wanted to ask where Wei Min was injured, what kind of torture she had suffered, but he felt that he was too slow to figure it out, too slow...
Wei Min's eyes were slightly red, and there was a layer of moisture in his eyes, but he smiled and touched A Ruan's face, saying softly: "Don't cry."
As Wei Min wiped A'ruan's tears, he caught a glimpse of the food box on the ground and immediately remembered that he only had a quarter of an hour.
Ah Ruan quickly withdrew from Wei Min's hand, squatted down to open the food box, picked up the bowl of rice, picked up the chopsticks to pick out some light and greasy vegetables and put them into her bowl, then stood up and handed it to her.
A'ruan was attentive, and he had been watching Wei Min without blinking when he opened the door just now, so he naturally noticed her movements. Even though she subconsciously put down her hand because she was afraid that he would worry, he still saw it.
The wife was probably injured from the chest to the stomach, so she was unwilling to come out and squat to get the food.
Ah Ruan handed the bowl to Wei Min and gestured:
——Eat something light.
Wei Min felt hot and painful in his heart. He lowered his eyes to look at the vegetables in the bowl and hummed.
Wei Min knew that A'ruan had to think of a way to come in and deliver the meal, and he also knew that the shift change would not take long, so he held the bowl in one hand and wiped the tears from A'ruan's eyes with the other hand, and said to him in a slow voice: "The results of the provincial exam should be out in the next two days, the earliest today, the day after tomorrow at the latest, and I will be able to go out then.
Before I took the provincial exam, I rented a place in Xinghua Lane. The owner was away on a business trip and wouldn't be back until March. She kindly took half of my rent and let me stay there until the palace exam was over, saying it was a thank you for me looking after her house.
Now I'll tell you the exact address and give you the key. Go wait for me there. There are too many people in the Imperial Examination Hall, so you can't come here often. ”
Wei Min entered the room, placed the bowl on the table, took out the key from his bag and handed it to A Ruan. He gently stroked his dark eyes with his fingers, feeling a mixture of discomfort in his heart.
"Go and have a good rest there. Don't worry about me because I'm fine."
A Ruan put the key close to his body and nodded obediently.
When he heard the sound of orderly footsteps in the yard, Aruan knew that the soldiers for replacement had arrived.
A Ruan lowered her head to pack up the food box, bit her lip, looked at Wei Min, then turned and left.
"Aruan!"
As soon as Ah Ruan turned around, Wei Min clenched the iron bars in front of him and called out to him. Seeing him turn around, Wei Min clenched his fingers even tighter, looking at him reluctantly, his throat tightened, his lips moved, and after a long while he managed to force a smile, saying, "Let me kiss you before you leave, I miss you so much."
A'ruan's face turned red, but she looked around and saw that no one had come yet, so she took two quick steps and returned to the door.
Wei Min held A Ruan's face in his hands and kissed his forehead instead of his lips.
The warm lips pressed against my forehead, reluctant to separate for a long time.
A Ruan's eyes were hot and his heart was aching. The wife didn't want to kiss him, but she didn't want to let him go.
Wei Min stroked A'ruan's face with his thumb, and his lips left his forehead. He said, "Take care of yourself. I will come to see you in two days."
Only then did A Ruan leave. As soon as he left, the military service that was supposed to take over arrived.
Wei Min leaned on the iron gate, staring at A'ruan's receding figure from afar, and only closed the door after he could no longer see her.
When she was being tortured in prison, the only thing she thought about was that she had to grit her teeth and get through it. If she died, what would happen to A Ruan?
He was only sixteen years old, how could she bear to let him become a widower so early!
Wei Min finished the rice in the bowl mixed with vegetables, then sat at the table, touching the whip marks on his chest. It was unknown what he was thinking about, as his fingers slowly clenched into fists and his eyes became gloomy.
Whatever she suffers today, she will be paid back double in the future!
The author has something to say: Wei Min: I miss A Ruan, the kind of miss that I miss like Jiang Jiang Niang Niang ovo
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
