She rushed out of the house in a hurry, and ran towards the inner gate with a clear goal, running all the way, panting.
But she was still a step too late, and the area around the inner and outer ceremonial gates was empty.
A maid at the gate probably guessed that Du Juan was here to pursue the wife of Marquis Ji'an, and said hesitantly, "Miss Du Juan, the carriage of the Marquis's mansion just left not long ago..."
Wei Wan had already passed away with her two children.
The Marquis of Ji'an's Mansion is not far from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, probably only an incense stick's worth of drive away.
When she returned to the Marquis' Mansion, Wei Wan was still angry and her plump lips were still tightly pursed.
As soon as she got off the carriage, she saw a man in a sky-blue robe standing outside.
The man, about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, was tall and straight, with handsome features. In the sunlight, his eyes and brows appeared gentler than usual, and he looked very handsome.
"Ayan, why are you here?" Wei Wan looked at her husband, Xu Yan, Marquis of Ji'an, in surprise.
Before Xu Yan could say anything, the twins had already gotten off the carriage one by one. The boy, Xu Luo, threw himself into his father's arms, calling out affectionately, "Daddy."
The little girl Xu Yao stood three steps away, pursed her lips and smiled, with a faint smile, and bowed to her father in a reserved and obedient manner: "Father."
Xu Yan touched the top of his son's head, then the top of his daughter's head, and said with a smile, "Wan'er, I will take a day off from tomorrow. Let's go to the farm with our two children and stay there for two days."
"Aren't you going to rest in three days?" Wei Wan opened her eyes wide in surprise, her pupils sparkling, "I haven't packed my luggage yet, I can't just leave empty-handed."
She had made an agreement with her husband a few days ago that when he was free, they would take their two children to live for a while in a farm outside Beijing, and also go to the Wuliang Temple near the farm to ask for a peace talisman for their son.
Wuliang Temple has always been famous in Beijing. Although it was slightly affected by Shangqing's incident some time ago, when the people in Beijing learned that Shangqing's surname was Yu, they quickly blamed the Yu family. Within half a month, the incense of Wuliang Temple returned to normal.
"I just want to give you and the children a surprise, don't worry. I asked... Nanny Wang to pack everything that needs to be prepared."
Xu Luo was delighted when he heard this. He smiled and pulled Xu Yan's hand, urging him eagerly, "Dad, let's go quickly."
During this period, Xu Luo was tortured by the scar, which was either caused by evil spirits or a "strange disease". He was either angry or depressed. Today, he rarely smiled, which made Wei Wan happy. She felt that she should have taken the children out for a walk to relax.
So, Wei Wan and the twins returned to the carriage, and Xu Yan got on last.
The carriage of the Marquis' Mansion was quite spacious, more than enough for their family of four. Xu Yan held Xu Luo and sat on the left side of the carriage, while Wei Wan and their daughter Xu Yao sat on the other side.
The carriage soon drove out of the Marquis' Mansion again, and this time, it headed in another direction away from the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.
Xu Luo took out his Nine Rings again and started playing with it.
Wei Wan looked at her son with a loving expression on her face, but then she thought of what happened at the Duke's Mansion and frowned.
She always said what she wanted to say, and she complained to Xu Yan unhappily: "Ayan, when I went to the Duke of Weiguo's mansion today, I met a charlatan."
"I originally wanted her to see Luo Ge'er..." As she spoke, her eyes of pity swept across Xu Luo's little face, "I didn't expect that she would curse me after just a few words..."
"Curse you?" Xu Yan interrupted her, frowning slightly.
"She cursed me and our child to die! What bad luck, really bad luck!" Wei Wan became more and more indignant as she spoke. She took her daughter Xu Yao, who was sitting next to her, into her arms and gently stroked her daughter's slender shoulders.
Xu Yao snuggled up to her mother obediently, with a look of admiration on her face.
Wei Wan touched her daughter's head again and snorted unhappily: "Humph, I heard that she saved the eldest princess before. I think she is just a name. Maybe she is just lucky."
"If I hadn't left just now, she would have asked me to pay a large sum of money to change my fate next."
"The person who saved the princess..." Xu Yan frowned and looked at Wei Wan thoughtfully, his eyes dark and revealing obvious displeasure, "Are you talking about the second Miss Gu?"
Ever since the Chaochengtian Gate incident, the reputation of the second young lady Gu from the former Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion has been known to everyone in the court, not to mention that because of her, the Yu family and the Feng family were also implicated.
Wei Wan nodded.
She was still angry and didn't want to mention the other person's name.
“Pah.”
The Nine Rings flew out of Xu Luo's hand, and he had already fallen asleep on his father's lap with his eyes closed.
Xu Yan hurriedly adjusted his son's sleeping position. Through his collar, he could see the blood-red scars on the boy's skin faintly visible, as if he was burned by fire.
Just looking at this, Wei Wan felt heartbroken and wished she could bear all this on behalf of her son.
Xu Yan carefully loosened his son's collar and gently comforted his wife, "It's okay. Our Luo Ge'er is a lucky man."
"I have inquired about it. The abbot of Wuliang Temple, Xuancheng Zhenren, has returned to the temple. This time, we will ask the Zhenren to take a good look at Luo Ge'er."
Seeing how much her husband cared about their only son, Wei Wan felt deeply moved.
Although she had few children, her husband never took a concubine and was extremely caring towards their legitimate son. He personally taught Xu Luo, taught him martial arts, and took care of his daily life, taking no less care of him than she, as a mother.
Seeing her son like this, her husband must be more distressed than she is.
"If Luo Ge'er can get better, I am willing to fast for three years... no, ten years."
“…”
Amid the couple's chatter, the carriage drove out of the capital from the west gate.
The road was steady and the carriage swayed regularly. Gradually, Wei Wan in the carriage began to feel a little sleepy.
At her husband's persuasion, she closed her eyes and took a nap.
The twins slept soundly. Wei Wan was half asleep and half awake, opening her eyes from time to time to look at her children.
When she opened her eyes for the umpteenth time, she noticed that it was a little dark in the carriage, so she parted the curtains and looked outside.
It was already dusk outside, the sun had set most of the way down, and the sky was half bright and half dark.
Wei Wan rubbed her brows and said to Xu Yan, who was sitting opposite her, in a hoarse voice, "Haven't we arrived at Wushan Manor yet?"
The farm of the marquis's mansion in the western suburbs was very close to Wuliang Temple. That was why they planned to stay for a while in this farm which they did not often visit.
"We haven't arrived yet." Xu Yan also opened the curtains and looked outside, explaining helplessly, "One road is still blocked due to a landslide the day before yesterday, so the driver changed the route and had to go in a circle."
"Just close your eyes and get some sleep. We'll be there in a little while."
Xu Yan said so, but until the sun set completely and it was dark, they still hadn't arrived at Wushan Villa.
A dim glass candle lamp was lit in the carriage, and the candlelight swayed slightly as the carriage moved.
Wei Wan was not sleepy either. She lifted the curtains from time to time and looked outside the carriage. She felt that the carriage was going further and further off the road. Both sides of the road were pitch black and she could only see vague shadows in the distance.
Wei Wan was feeling anxious, wondering if the driver had taken the wrong road. Just as she was about to ask, the carriage suddenly shook violently. She heard the driver let out a "whoosh" and the horses' anxious neighing.
The driver outside shouted nervously, "My Lord, Madam, someone is robbing the road."
The candle flame was still swaying wildly inside the glass lampshade, and the dim light cast an obscure shadow on Wei Wan's face.
Xu Yao, who was sleeping in Wei Wan's arms, was also awakened and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
Wei Wan hugged her daughter subconsciously, and Gu Yanfei's cold voice rang in her mind: "Otherwise, Madam and your child will surely die!"
As soon as this thought came to her mind, she rejected it.
No, it won't.
She couldn't help but shook her head and said to herself that she didn't believe it.
But there was a hint of panic in her expression, and a bone-chilling chill spread rapidly in her heart, like a spider web that tightly entangled her.
"Everyone be careful, it's a thief!"
"Brothers, go ahead!"
Loud and high-pitched shouts came from outside the carriage, tearing the silence of the dark night and the tranquility in the carriage.
Immediately afterwards, the clanging sounds of swords clashing rang out one after another, accompanied by shrill screams, desperate groans, and the sounds of disorderly running... These thrilling sounds mixed together, disrupting Wei Wan's mind.
A strong smell of blood drifted in from the window, becoming stronger and stronger.
Xu Luo, who was originally sleeping in Xu Yan's arms, also woke up and yawned lazily. He seemed not to have woken up yet and was in a daze.
"Luo'er, come to your mother quickly." Wei Wan waved anxiously to her son who had just woken up, her whole body tense.
But Xu Luo hugged Xu Yan, buried his face in his father's chest, and said stubbornly: "I am with Daddy."
Xu Yan held his son with his arms, his eyes deep and his voice carrying a barely perceptible coldness: "...I will take care of Luo Ge'er."
"Don't worry."
As they were talking, the shouting and screaming outside became louder. Several swords and knives hit the carriage heavily, making a few heavy muffled sounds.
Xu Yao was terrified. She huddled in her mother's arms and cried out in a trembling voice, "Mom, I'm scared."
Wei Wan was equally frightened. She hugged her daughter tightly, her face pale with fear.
She whispered to comfort the little girl, and didn't notice that the boy buried in Xu Yan's arms opposite had half of his face exposed. He glanced at her with a sidelong glance, and his sinister eyes revealed a bit of disdain and impatience.
The bloody scar on his collar became redder and brighter, as if blood was faintly oozing out, or like a long blood-red worm wriggling.
(End of this chapter)
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