Chapter 71: Encounter This hoarse and lingering voice seemed familiar to her. ...
Why did He Jiuyue come back here? Could it be that she found him hiding in the carriage?
His heart immediately rose to his throat. Wen Zheliu placed her hands on her chest and lay quietly in the carriage, not daring to move. She held her breath involuntarily.
But for nearly half a minute, there was no sound outside.
Wen Zheliu shivered for a long time before realizing that he didn't need to be on guard at all.
He Jiuyue simply walked back to this alley, passed by the carriage of the Western Yue envoys, saw Dugu Qiu, and exchanged a few words with him.
Even if she had clairvoyance, she couldn't see through the carriage and see him resting inside.
Why should he panic?
He Jiuyue did go to the cliff.
Hearing her subordinates' confident words, "Wen Zheliu" fell off a cliff in front of everyone. She traveled through wind and rain from the capital to this small mountain valley where women farmed and men weaved.
As soon as she heard the news, she rushed out of the capital without even having time to change her bloodstained nightgown.
He also brought a group of elite soldiers wearing armor.
Along the way, he attracted a lot of attention.
She walked day and night, first going to the top of the cliff, but not seeing any landmark objects. Then she passed the small village and went around to the bottom of the cliff, just wanting to see the person who was broken into pieces according to her subordinates.
Is he really Wen Zheliu?
He Jiuyue galloped his horse and just as he reached the bottom of the cliff, he saw from afar a large mass of blood and flesh lying on the rubble.
To say it is a large mass is not quite accurate.
To be more precise, it was a mass of flesh that had been torn into several pieces.
Based on her years of experience on the battlefield and seeing piles of corpses, she could vaguely distinguish branches and limbs.
But the undried bloodstains on the gravel looked a little strange.
Unlike ordinary fall injuries, which leave traces of blood starting from a point and splashing around like water, there are several jet-like bloodstains coexisting at the bottom of the cliff.
He Jiuyue raised his head and saw a lot of dried blood on the branches and stones on the cliff, and he understood.
When this person was falling rapidly, his body hit the cliff for several times, first breaking into several pieces, and then falling heavily to the ground, breaking into several lumps.
But the clothes on this person...
It was exactly the one she bought for Wen Zheliu.
It was also what he wore on the day Wen Zheliu disappeared.
He Jiuyue didn't know how she fell off the horse and walked over step by step.
But she walked around the man and still didn't see the white jade amulet. The breath of relief that had been pent up in her heart finally let out.
This is just a person with a similar body shape to Wen Zheliu, not necessarily him.
She drew the sword hanging at her waist, carefully cut open the man's abdomen, and probed around the internal organs, but did not see the uterus swollen by the fetus.
No, this is not him.
The huge rock that was hanging high in my heart finally fell down to the ground.
He Jiuyue took out the silk cloth from his sleeve and carefully wiped the blood off the blade.
Although she breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that the deceased was not Wen Zheliu, but since even this person who looked so much like him was not Wen Zheliu, the "clue" she had finally obtained was completely broken.
It has been more than half a month since Wen Zheliu disappeared.
Where is he?
The wind was mixed with white particles and hit my face directly.
Logically speaking, it hurts.
He Jiuyue was completely unaware of this.
She held the reins in one hand and with the other she held back the snow that was drifting slowly in the wind and was now moving anxiously.
She used less than one tenth of her strength and only gently pinched the edge of the snowball with her fingertips, but the snow still melted, as if it couldn't bear the weight.
The water flowed down He Jiuyue's knuckles and toward her wrist.
She stared at the few drops of water, and just as they were about to soak her sleeves, she gently shook them off.
The water drops responded to her strength and fell onto the snow.
This snow is somewhat similar to the sound of willow branches being cut.
Normally he always frowned, as cold as the snow on the mountains, but when he got close to her, he melted like steel and became as soft as water that clung to her tightly.
But snow is fragile and melts easily, so it cannot be retained.
Water, on the other hand, is always flowing and has no fixed place to stay.
Even if you use a basin or tile-like object to hold the water, it can only confine the water for a short while. Once the water finds a gap on the wall of the container, even one as small as a fingertip, it will escape without hesitation.
Isn’t it the same when you hear the sound of willows being cut?
He could never stay in the princess's mansion, always saying that his chest felt stuffy when he lay down, and he would whimper and act like a spoiled child, asking her to take him out.
This trick of his always works, and she always accepts it.
But despite this indulgence, he still left.
It is really strange that Wen Zheliu disappeared this time without leaving even a trace in the Central Plains where she had spies and ears everywhere.
If he were trapped, with his intelligence, he should be able to find a way to get out a few words.
If he was in cahoots with someone and wanted to leave…
Why don't you tell her?
Even if it was just a note, she wouldn't have to worry about sleeping or eating.
He was like the flowing water, and she couldn't trap him.
He Jiuyue raised his head slightly and exhaled a long breath to let out the depression in his heart. The white smoke was like the smoke rising from an ordinary family's fire to cook, and it dissipated into the blue sky.
Why bother?
He... is just a man.
Even though he was pregnant with her child, they were still childhood sweethearts.
But he's just a man.
Compared to the thousands of soldiers in the military camp who depend on her for survival, the tens of thousands of people in the capital, and the millions of people in the vast Central Plains.
What’s the big deal about hearing about willow branches being broken?
People say that there is a time when fate begins and a time when fate ends.
They are destined to be together in this life, but this fate may end here.
He is not worth her effort.
On the way back, we passed through several villages. Although there were few people in the villages and there were not many people blocking the road, the road was narrow.
In addition, it was snowing, which made travel difficult.
He Jiuyue felt lost and had completely lost the speed with which she had come. Like a puppet, she made Xingyun, who had been here once and knew the route, return the same way.
But he never expected that Xingyun would go through an alley that he had not passed on the way here.
When he unexpectedly met the Western Yue envoys led by Dugu Qiu, He Jiuyue was still thinking about the saying "don't air your dirty laundry in public", feeling disappointed and anxious in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.
"Greetings to General He." Dugu Qiu saluted respectfully.
He Jiuyue didn't want to exchange pleasantries with her. He nodded and was about to leave, then pulled the reins again.
"Dugu Qiu."
She fished out a scroll from her bosom and unrolled it before Dugu Qiu's eyes. Her peach blossom eyes fixed on his features, determined to discern something from his expression. "Have you seen this person?"
She has fair skin and beautiful looks, but unfortunately she is sick and still looks like Wen Zheliu.
Dugu Qiu's heart was beating like a drum.
"Never seen it before." She swallowed.
Not only was she panicking when facing He Jiuyue, but Wen Zheliu who was hiding in the carriage was also terrified.
He Jiuyue, whom he thought about day and night, was outside.
How he wanted to lift the curtain and see that she had been working hard recently, with dark circles under her eyes, but the color had become heavier. How he wanted to snuggle in her arms, whining that he had a stomachache, and melt the frost that always lingered in her sharp eyebrows and eyes.
But what happens after that?
If he really did this, what he would receive would probably not be He Jiuyue's joy of getting her back, but a vigilant and cautious attitude.
Since he could lie on the carriage of the Western Yue envoy, he must be closely related to Western Yue.
His adoptive mother and father were beheaded for collaborating with the enemy Xiyue. How could He Jiuyue not be suspicious when she was looking for him here?
He can't afford the gamble.
He cannot be found.
But just because he doesn't want to be discovered doesn't mean he won't be noticed. He Jiuyue has such sharp insight.
Even if he had known her for several years and was as familiar with her as twin lotus flowers, it would be difficult for him to hide the truth from her.
What's more, now, the two of them are only separated by a thin curtain that can block the wind and snow and be opened with a lift.
"Meow!" Xueyu came back from hunting with a big rat in her mouth. She was about to jump back to the carriage happily to show off to Wen Zheliu, but she was frightened by the strange smell of He Jiuyue. Her back arched and all the hair on her body stood up.
He Jiuyue confronted the white cat for a moment, cleared his throat twice, and strained his throat.
"Mimi."
Xiaobai was watching nearby, feeling anxious.
He wanted to go out and bring Xueyu back, but he had met He Jiuyue before in Changle Palace. Who was He Jiuyue? He was an expert in investigation.
The intuition left by the battlefield made it difficult for her to forget the person she met once.
He Jiuyue had only discovered Xueyu at this moment, and had not yet discovered Wen Zheliu who was hiding in the carriage.
He went out rashly and alerted the enemy.
He Jiuyue got off Xingyun's back. Wearing light armor, it was inconvenient for her to kneel down, so she just bent one knee and put the hand that was not holding the reins to Xueyu's nose, letting it smell her scent.
Xueyu was very alert at first, with her two triangular ears drooping straight to the back of her head.
But he was finally convinced by He Jiuyue's persistent sucking sound, and threw the big rat in his mouth onto the snow, grabbed it with his claws, and let her rub its head.
"Is this cat owned by one of your envoys?"
Dugu Qiu was stunned.
Xueyu had already run here with her tail raised high. She was obviously in a good mood and was ready to show off her prey in front of her owner. She couldn't hide it.
"...Yes." Cold sweat broke out on her back.
He Jiuyue avoided the thin calluses on her hands and smoothed Xueyu's fur twice with her dry and warm hands.
"This cat's fur is shiny and tangle-free. The owner of this cat seems to be very fond of it. However, this breed is unique to the Central Plains. You came from Western Vietnam, so why would you raise a Central Plains cat?"
"I picked it up on the way." Dugu Qiu's voice tightened.
"Who is the master?" He Jiuyue plucked the hair at the tip of Xueyu's ear and saw Xueyu shake her ears. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Dugu Qiu was thinking rapidly about how to respond when he saw He Jiuyue withdraw his hand and stand up.
"There's someone in the carriage, isn't there?"
Dugu Qiu cried out in his heart that something was wrong.
She subconsciously took a step forward, blocking the carriage and preventing He Jiuyue from getting close. "Someone is not feeling well and is resting inside."
He Jiuyue straightened her clothes.
"Will you allow me to see you?"
Dugu Qiu chose his words carefully, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and advised cautiously.
"If the Grand Marshal wants to see him, I can't stop him. But he's so sick and can't see the wind. I don't want him to pass on his illness to... the Grand Marshal!"
Before she could finish, He Jiuyue opened the curtain.
What came into view was indeed the face of a Western Yue person.
He lay quietly on the soft couch in the carriage, covered with a thick blanket, his cheeks flushed abnormally.
Perhaps he heard the sound of He Jiuyue lifting the curtain, he gently opened his eyelids, his almond-shaped eyes were full of confusion caused by the high fever.
“…Who are you?”
He Jiuyue was indeed not familiar with the face, but she seemed to have heard the hoarse and lingering voice before.
"What's your last name? What's your first name?"
He Jiuyue put her hand on the hilt of the knife, and the blade slightly protruded from the scabbard, revealing a frightening cold light. Her expression was cold, as if she was interrogating a prisoner.
The man said nothing, just closed his eyes.
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