Chapter 101 The affairs of this world are ever-changing...
As evening fell, Yao Biyue entered the palace.
"Swoosh!" Upon seeing Lou Xueying, she rushed over with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy.
Lou Xueying had regained her strength and hugged her tightly, her eyes welling up with tears: "A-Yue! I heard your family was under house arrest, are you alright?"
"Thank goodness!" Yao Biyue said, "Although we can't get out, at least we're not in prison and we're still living in our own home, so there's nothing to worry about!"
Lou Xueying: "I've dragged you all into this..."
"What kind of time is this to be talking about these things!" Yao Biyue was both nervous and excited. She gripped Lou Xueying's hand tightly and asked in a low voice, "You...you've already...done...with His Majesty and the Crown Prince, right?"
Lou Xueying nodded: "Yes."
Yao Biyue let out a soft breath and clutched her chest.
Although I already knew about it, hearing it from Lou Xueying still made my heart race.
“A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day…” Yao Biyue swallowed hard. “Then, you and General Li, when do you plan to…”
She cut herself off halfway through the question, muttering, "Never mind, I was presumptuous. I won't ask anymore."
Lou Xueying sighed: "Actually, sitting here now, it still feels a bit like a dream."
“It was just a dream!” Yao Biyue said. “People like us, who are locked up in the mansion every day, know nothing about the outside world and haven’t heard any fighting. Suddenly someone comes and tells us that the emperor and the crown prince are dead! Huh! I was wondering why, wasn’t the crown prince already dead?”
As she spoke, she suddenly noticed the bandage wrapped around Lou Xueying's neck and exclaimed, "Are you injured?"
I was too excited just now and didn't look closely. I thought it was a white-collar worker.
"She was injured." Lou Xueying recounted the events of the past few days to her in detail, leaving her speechless.
"The Crown Prince's methods are so vicious!" Yao Biyue exclaimed in shock. "He made a fuss about you during the autumn hunt, and I thought he was just a hypocrite. I never expected he could do something so heinous! Thank goodness he's dead!"
Speaking of this, she recalled Lou Xueying's warning to her not to become the Crown Princess a long time ago, and she was filled with lingering fear: "Luckily I didn't marry him back then, otherwise I would be finished now!"
Lou Xueying: "Speaking of which, he was captured by people from your Yao family. There was a man named Wang He who used to be a guard in your household. Later, he joined the Beijing Army. Do you remember him?"
"Of course I remember! I just saw him!" Yao Biyue said. "The subordinate who came to deliver the message from your general told us that Wang He had captured the crown prince. Our whole family can't believe it!"
Lou Xueying smiled and said, "The cause and effect of this world are really unpredictable. When the general asked Wang He what reward he wanted, he didn't ask for much. He only said that he wanted to be a squad leader. He would earn a higher military rank later."
Yao Biyue: "That does sound like something he would say."
Do you know him well?
"I wouldn't say I know him well, but he used to be our family's bodyguard, so I definitely know what kind of person he is," Yao Biyue said. "Actually, he only joined the army last year. Let me think... um, it must have been around the time my marriage to the Crown Prince fell through. He said he didn't want to just be a bodyguard and wanted to join the army like the Marquis of Wu'an—cough, he was still the Marquis of Wu'an back then—and earn his own future. My father said it's good for young people to have ambition, and since our family doesn't need another bodyguard, he let him go."
As she spoke, Yao Biyue laughed to herself: "Speaking of which, wasn't General Li originally going to stay in the capital to serve as an official? That kid Wang He is quite opportunistic. If General Li had really stayed, he might have actually been able to take over the Beijing army, and Wang He would have been able to work under General Li."
Lou Xueying: "After going around in circles, it's pretty much the same now."
Yao Biyue sighed, "The world is ever-changing; who could have imagined things would turn out this way?"
The two chatted for a long time until Li Pan appeared at the entrance of the Imperial Hospital under the cover of night.
Upon seeing Li Pan, Yao Biyue immediately stood up and saluted: "General."
Li Pan nodded to her and asked Lou Xueying, "Have you eaten yet?"
Lou Xueying: Not yet, how about you?
Li Pan: "I don't have any either."
Yao Biyue immediately said, "Now that the general has returned, I will take my leave and visit Susu another day."
Lou Xueying: "Why don't you stay and have a simple meal with us?"
Yao Biyue quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need. There should still be some food left for me at home, so I won't bother you any longer."
After saying that, he quickly slipped away.
Yao Biyue knew that the palace was very busy at this time, and she was too embarrassed to trouble others, so she left the palace alone and planned to walk home.
To their surprise, as they stepped out of the palace gate, they found a carriage belonging to the Yao family parked there, driven by Wang He.
"Miss." He jumped down from the carriage and bowed to her. "I will escort you back to your residence."
Yao Biyue's eyes widened: "Why did you come to pick me up?"
Wang He replied, "When Miss was taken to the palace by Lord Wu, she was taken in a palace carriage. But I was worried that there were too many things to do in the palace and that I might delay the other officials from doing their work, so I thought I would come and pick Miss up myself."
"Uh, that's not what I was asking." Yao Biyue scratched her head. "You're not our family's guard anymore, so why are you still here to pick me up? I heard you're going to be a squad leader, so why are you wasting your time at our house?"
“I grew up in the Yao family since I was a child, and my father still works for the Yao family. The Yao family is my home, so how could it be a waste of time?” Wang He said with his head down. “Besides, a squad leader is not a high-ranking official, and I would never dare to forget my origins because of this. I used to be Miss’s bodyguard. Although I will not be able to accompany Miss often in the future, I will do my best to serve Miss if she has any requests.”
"You're quite sentimental." Yao Biyue smiled, and without standing on ceremony, she boarded the carriage. "Then I'll have to trouble you."
Wang He smiled and lowered his head, then got into the carriage and started driving.
Yao Biyue had been confined in the mansion for almost a year and was about to go crazy. Today, she had talked a lot with Lou Xueying, but she still felt unsatisfied. So she excitedly went to Wang He's side and asked him, "Can you tell me in detail how you captured the Crown Prince?"
Wang He hesitated for a moment: "They just... they just made a few moves and caught me."
"What? Don't try to fool me!" Yao Biyue pushed him in annoyance. "Explain yourself clearly! I want to hear the details!"
Wang He had no choice but to begin his story: "...At the time, I got lost and was resting by a wall when the Crown Prince suddenly ran over. For some reason, when he saw me, he suddenly became very agitated and insisted on killing me. He even said... that I was an adulterer..."
"Adulterer?" Yao Biyue was shocked. "Whose adulterer are you? Could it be that you've been secretly having an affair with a married woman?!"
"How could that be! I absolutely did not do such a thing! Miss, please investigate, I am completely innocent!" Wang He hurriedly defended himself. "The Crown Prince must have mistaken me for someone else the first time he saw me, or he must be insane! That's right, he must be insane! Otherwise, why would he stop to fight me instead of running for his life?"
Yao Biyue looked him over suspiciously: "Are you really not someone's lover?"
"Heaven and earth bear witness, how could I, a lowly man, who spends every day in the military camp, commit adultery!"
“That’s true. It seems he really has gone mad.” Yao Biyue was relieved, and couldn’t help but nudge Wang He. “But then again, although you are only a squad leader, the first merit of capturing the Crown Prince is yours. If you have a successful career in the future, remember not to forget me when you become rich and powerful.”
Wang He said in a low voice, "I would never forget, and I also hope that Miss will not forget me."
"Hmm?" Yao Biyue leaned closer to listen. "What did you say?"
"It's nothing," Wang He said. "It's cold, Miss, why don't you go back to your carriage and sit down? Don't catch a cold."
“Yes, I’ll go in first then. Thank you for your trouble.” Yao Biyue patted his shoulder, went back to the carriage, and drew the curtain.
Wang He took a deep breath and continued driving towards the Yao residence.
-
Meanwhile, at the Imperial Hospital.
Li Pan was holding Lou Xueying's face in his hands and kissing her deeply.
The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and a series of chaotic events had occurred in between, making them miss each other terribly. However, Lou Xueying's medication hadn't worn off yet, and coupled with her emotional breakdown, they hadn't had much time to talk.
But now, with no one around and she having regained her spirits, he could no longer suppress the emotions surging within him, wishing he could simply merge with her.
However, he still had his senses and knew that she needed more rest, so he simply held her ten fingers tightly and repeatedly sucked and bit her lips.
Lou Xueying sensed that his mood was off and responded to him quietly until he finally let go of her, stared intently at her face, and finally pulled her into his arms.
"What's wrong?" Lou Xueying asked softly.
"Besides drugging you, did Liang Ji do anything else to harm you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
Lou Xueying gently patted his back and comforted him, "Don't worry, it's nothing. I'm just locked up and can't escape, but when he found out that you were about to attack the city, he and his uncle were busy planning how to deal with you and didn't have much time to care about me."
“I haven’t had a chance to ask you yet.” Li Pan pulled out the blood-stained cloth strip from his pocket. “How exactly did you manage to get this out?”
Lou Xueying then recounted what had happened.
On the night she was imprisoned in the dilapidated temple by the Crown Prince's subordinates, she kept thinking about what other methods the Crown Prince could use besides taking her hostage to ensure that she could defeat Li Pan if the army under his command could not defeat the Northwest Army.
She went through everything carefully, and when she thought of the county magistrate who had tricked her out of her life under the pretense of being a "spy," she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
What if this spy wasn't just a deceptive excuse, but actually existed?
What if Li Pan really had someone close to the Crown Prince, and he was completely unaware of it?
She immediately thought of Deputy General Ding, who, despite hearing the noise, still let the Crown Prince's subordinates pass when the coffin was opened for examination.
Although she didn't have a deep relationship with him, she knew him. Lou Xueying had attended several of Li Pan and others' combat meetings and felt that Deputy General Ding was a bold and meticulous person who often noticed small details that others overlooked.
But that day, after she made a noise in the coffin, the soldier who was closing the coffin lid hesitated for a moment, but was scolded by Deputy General Ding for being clumsy and urged to close the coffin lid quickly.
Is he... the kind of person who's in such a hurry to end the interrogation? And why didn't he ask the Crown Prince's subordinate, who claimed to be from the capital region and had returned to bury his dead, for details about his address and name?
A host of doubts surfaced in her mind, sending chills down her spine.
Deputy General Ding was not a surrendered general, but a veteran who had followed Li Pan for many years. If he really betrayed Li Pan, the consequences would be unimaginable.
While trying to break free of the ropes binding her, Lou Xueying was also thinking about how to send a message to Li Pan.
It would be best if she could escape on her own, but if she couldn't, she should try her best to let Li Pan know everything.
After breaking free of the ropes, she pulled out the copper hairpin from her hair, took out the gag, cut off a small piece from it, and then used the hairpin to prick her finger and write two bloody characters, "Tai" and "Ding," before stuffing them into the cloth tiger she carried with her.
She had thought it through clearly: if she couldn't escape, she would let the horse carry the cloth tiger and run towards Li Pan's camp.
The reason for not cutting it larger was twofold: firstly, the cloth tiger could only hold so much fabric, and secondly, the strips of cloth were intended to gag her; if too much was missing, the Crown Prince's subordinates would surely notice. Now, there was just enough fabric to write two characters, which should be enough for Li Pan to make his connection.
"Luckily, I learned a little about horseback riding from you before," Lou Xueying said, hugging Li Pan. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to last that long. I'm afraid I would have been thrown off before I could even put the cloth tiger on the horse."
Li Pan breathed heavily.
Lou Xueying: "What's wrong? It's all in the past, there's no need to think about it anymore."
Li Pan said, "Ding Heng is dead."
Lou Xueying paused for a moment, then hugged Li Pan even tighter and whispered, "Are you very sad?"
“I asked him why he betrayed me, and he said it was because he had moved his wife and children from the Northwest to the interior of China so that they could have a better life sooner, but they were kidnapped by Liang Ji’s men and used to threaten him. He had no choice.” Li Pan’s throat tightened, and his voice became hoarse. “I made him commit suicide. Before he did, he asked me if I could spare his wife and children if I heard any news about them.”
Lou Xueying was silent for a moment before saying, "And then?"
“Someone just reported that all the remaining members of the Liao family who fled have been captured. I sent people to interrogate them to see where they had imprisoned Ding Heng’s wife and children. But… but…” Li Pan suddenly couldn’t continue.
A warm trail of water slid down Lou Xueying's nape.
She pursed her lips.
After a long silence, Li Pan, his eyes red, continued, "In the end... the Liao family said that after they kidnapped Ding Heng's wife and children, they wanted Ding Heng's wife to write a letter to prove that she and the children were indeed in the Liao family's hands, so that Ding Heng would switch sides with them. But... but Ding Heng's wife refused to comply and actually took the children... and committed suicide. In the end, the Liao family could only take some jewelry and clothing from them to prove it to Ding Heng."
Lou Xueying suddenly felt the force on her body tighten abruptly, as if he wanted to embed her in his arms, holding her tightly.
"Swish..." he choked back tears, "I wish I could skin those people alive, tear them apart, and grind their bones to dust... I thought I was strong enough, but why did things still come to this..."
Lou Xueying knew that he wasn't actually looking for an answer; he was simply expressing his inner pain. He had reached a point where he had no one to confide in, and he couldn't let others see this vulnerable side of him. Only by finding her could he find temporary solace.
Just like today in the Ganyang Palace, when he held her and cried freely with her, now in the dark of night, she simply held him quietly and slowly stroked his back.
Tomorrow, in front of outsiders, they will once again be a dignified, powerful, calm, and meticulous couple.
Only by doing more and better can we ensure that the remaining people do not have to face similar storms.
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