Chapter 175
Luo Yining was awakened by the cold.
She leaned against the bench and suddenly woke up. She was riding in the carriage with a woman named Guo, holding a child. She had married and moved to Datong, but her husband had died on the battlefield. Her mother-in-law had four or five sons, so she treated her snobbishly and greedily. She wanted to take her child back to her parents' home. Her father was a minor official in the Shuntian government office.
The child was shy and quiet, sitting in her mother's arms playing with a necklace. However, Mrs. Guo was very warm and kept asking about Luo Yining's background.
"You look so newly married and frail. How could your husband's family let you out on your own?" Guo said, sizing her up. Her clothes were made of expensive material, yet she wore no jewelry. She must have been from a poor family. Just now, in exchange for riding in the carriage with her, she had given him two silver hairpins, which she used to pay for the fare. Guo had let her get on.
"Sister, don't you know about men?" Luo Yining knew how to arouse Guo's sympathy. "Before I married him, he treated me well with sweet words. After I married him, his family cheated me of my dowry, and he spent his money on wine and women outside. I can't stay in that shabby place anymore. I might as well go back to my father and avoid so much trouble... and then ask him to divorce me!"
Thinking of her mother-in-law's power, Guo felt a little sympathy for Luo Yining: "If you don't make a clear choice before getting married, marrying the wrong person is the most hateful thing. It's so hard for my sister!"
Luo Yining and Guo left Datong City together. As they approached Yangyuan County, it was already dark. Guo was about to rest at the post station, but Luo Yining told her, "Sister, it's inconvenient for us women to be away from home. It would be better for us to live in the same house to save some trouble."
Guo thought that she was short of money and had no spare money, so she let her live in the same room with her. Luo Yining then slept on the bench without a heated kang.
There was only a thin quilt available for her, so Luo Yining wrapped her cloak around herself. She slept like this until midnight, when the north wind howled outside, and she naturally woke up from the cold.
She got up from the bench. Guo's mother and son were still fast asleep on the kang. The child's face flushed red as he lay in his mother's arms. As Luo Yining watched these unfamiliar scenes, she missed everything in the capital even more. However, they hadn't even covered a third of the distance. Guo's carriage couldn't match Cheng Lang's reckless galloping warhorse. But Luo Yining wasn't panicking. In fact, she knew that if Cheng Lang hadn't let her go, she wouldn't have been able to leave Datong. So he was stalling for time, deliberately trying to avoid finding her.
But it was really too cold... How come she became so afraid of the cold?
Luo Yining got out of bed. There was no hot water in the room. She didn't dare go out alone, so she could only pace around the room to warm herself up. It was Guo who was woken by her: "Sister, why aren't you sleeping..."
Luo Yining couldn't say it was too cold; after all, the kang bed could only accommodate one or two people. "I just can't sleep. Sister, you rest, I'll keep my voice down."
Guo sighed, "You can't sleep because of what's happening at home, right? Don't worry. If you have nowhere to go after returning to the capital, just come and seek refuge with your sister. But don't go back to the family that hurt you. I've had enough..."
Luo Yining nodded slightly. At this moment, a chaotic sound of voices and horse hooves suddenly came from outside.
The sound was very loud, as if the entire front yard was noisy, and the shadow of a torch flashed across the partition.
Guo half sat up and asked, "What's going on outside..." Then she seemed to hear the sound of weapons and became a little nervous.
Luo Yining's heart started pounding, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.
She approached the partition door, unbolted it, and opened it a crack. Outside, guards were everywhere, but the inn's owner had come out in person. A tall, cloaked figure stood with his back to her, imposing as a mountain. The inn's owner answered respectfully, and Luo Yining's breath caught when she saw it.
It turned out to be Lu Jiaxue!
Why is he here!
If he had rushed back from the capital, he probably wouldn't have known she had escaped. But if he had come from Datong, he would have definitely known, and he might have come to look for her.
No matter what, she should hide now. It didn't matter whether she came from Datong or not, as long as he didn't find her.
Guo called out to her again, "Sister, what's going on out there?" She was a woman with a few spare bucks, and she was still afraid of trouble. Besides, this wasn't an ordinary family; it might be a government official. She looked at Luo Yining with a strange look. She felt like there was something else in Luo Yining's words. How could her husband be so cruel as to abandon such a beautiful girl? Guo was afraid she had brought trouble, and seeing so many soldiers and officials outside, her heart softened.
Seeing Guo's expression, Luo Yining secretly thought it was not good. You can't expect sincerity from a casual acquaintance. But how could she dare to hire a carriage alone? She was lucky enough to find Guo willing to give her a ride. She had never expected to run into Lu Jiaxue on the road!
Luo Yining gritted her teeth and put on a sad face: "To be honest with you, sister, the man in the yard is my husband. I lied to you at the beginning. I ran away not because he coveted my dowry. It's because he has a bad temper and often forces me. If I don't listen to him, he will beat me up... I finally escaped when he was not at home, sister, please let him catch me again!... I beg you to do this this time, I was indeed abused by him!" After that, she lifted her sleeve to show Guo the bruises on her arm. She accidentally fell when she climbed through the window.
Seeing Luo Yining burst into tears, Guo felt pity for her. She sighed. There was nowhere to hide in the room, just a table and a bench. There was a small corner surrounded by curtains, where the chamber pot was placed. "Sister, I want to help you, too. But seeing how your room is..."
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