Chapter 15 [15] "Stupid thing, come back." ...
【15】/First release
Yun Ran came back to his senses from his shock.
Looking at the stern-faced Ruyu Langjun in front of her, she blinked and took a step back. "Brother Cui, I know you mean well, and I also know that your sister's sudden death must have saddened you. But my marriage to King Jing was arranged by the Queen Mother. The imperial decree has been issued. If you dare to disobey, it would be a crime of great disrespect..."
"Yes, so we have to find a way to escape..."
"What can we do? Where can we escape to?"
Yun Ran raised her face, her dark eyes clearly reflecting Cui Boxu's stunned expression. "Brother Cui, you're a scholar and official. Your knowledge and perspective are certainly superior to a country girl like me. Even someone like me, who never properly attended school, knows that the whole world belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects. How could you not know that?"
Cui Boxu's thin lips moved slightly: "I..."
Yun Ran: "My life and death are insignificant, but I still have parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and nephews at home. In Yangzhou, there are my master and senior sisters. As the old saying goes, the monk can escape, but the temple cannot. If I run away, what will happen to them? I can't let them suffer because of me."
How could Cui Boxu not know the pros and cons of this?
But when I think about how she was so innocent, pure and kind, and yet she died in vain because of an evil marriage, I can't help but feel sorry for her.
Ever since he witnessed her being granted marriage that Mid-Autumn Festival, he had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep. A voice in his heart kept questioning him, how could he just stand by and watch? Was he really going to watch another innocent person die?
When Liu Niang was given the marriage, she cried all day long and was unhappy. She even found him privately and begged with tears in her eyes: "Brother, I don't want to get married. Please help me escape."
He that day, just like Yun Ran now, felt sorry for his sister, but he had to consider the overall situation and persuade her not to think too much.
Later, Liu Niang died. Facing her coffin, he repeatedly recalled the scene of her begging him to escape. The overwhelming sense of guilt threatened to consume him like a surging tide.
He's a truly terrible brother.
He is not worthy of being her brother.
He feels sorry for Liu Niang.
Liu Niang's tears and pleading words were still ringing in his ears. He knew that it was against etiquette for him to come here rashly, but he would feel guilty if he didn't do something.
"If Sister Yunwu wants to escape, maybe she can try..."
Cui Boxu leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "Faking death."
Yun Ran's eyelids twitched suddenly: "Faking death?"
Cui Boxu nodded: "Design an accident and escape."
Yun Ran had never thought so far or so deeply. His mind was blank for a while before he reacted.
"no."
She refused without hesitation. "Not only is this method too risky, but if there's even the slightest mistake, the lives of the entire Yun family will be lost. Secondly, I've finally returned home and reunited with my parents and family. If I'm asked to leave them again and wander around in hiding, why would I have come all the way to Chang'an?"
Cui Boxu frowned, feeling that she hadn't yet realized the horror of this marriage. "Even if you will die? Even if you have less than three months left to live? Are you willing?"
Yun Ran: “…”
That’s not the case.
The world is so interesting that we cannot bear to live enough, so how can we bear to die?
"Brother Cui, I'm very grateful for your kindness, but this marriage... or rather, Prince Jing, shouldn't be as scary as you think."
Yun Ran looked at Cui Boxu with sincerity. "The fact that you're here to tell me all this shows that you're a kindhearted person. So, I might as well tell you the truth. I've secretly looked at the birth chart sent from the palace, and Prince Jing isn't the unlucky fate that people say he is."
"Although he has disasters in his life, his food and injuries can generate wealth, his official and killing abilities are controlled, and his destiny is bright. Even among ordinary people, this is considered a very good destiny."
Facing Cui Boxu's astonished gaze, Yun Ran emphasized his tone, "Really? Although my talisman writing is not good, I am the best in our Taoist temple in terms of Eight Characters and Numerology!"
"Furthermore, one's birth date and eight characters cannot determine a person's entire life. Some people have good birth characters and are destined to be rich, but if they stay at home all day, lazy and squandering money, they still won't get rich. Some people have bad birth characters, but if they are diligent and enterprising, and accumulate good karma, they can also live a peaceful and smooth life and prosper. This is what they say: fate is determined by heaven, fortune is created by oneself."
Yun Ran is a chatterbox, and she becomes even more eloquent when it comes to her profession.
Cui Boxu was stunned for a moment as he watched the girl in front of him open and close her cherry-red mouth and talk a lot.
It wasn't until five slender white fingers swayed in front of him that he realized he had been staring at the young lady's red lips. His handsome face flushed again and he quickly took a step back: "Sister Yun Wu, I'm sorry."
Yun Ran: “……?”
How was that rude? Was it because I was distracted while talking?
"Oh, it's okay."
She shook her head generously, then suddenly remembered something. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, "Don't tell anyone what I just said. I told you this because you were willing to risk your life to persuade me to escape today."
The eight characters of birth date are extremely confidential and should not be easily revealed to others to prevent villains from taking advantage of them to do evil.
Although Yun Ran did not explicitly state King Jing's horoscope, it was inappropriate for their line of work to mention his fate to outsiders.
Her mind was full of thoughts like "the situation is special, the master has forgiven his disciple for revealing the secret", while Cui Boxu looked at the girl in blue skirt who suddenly approached, his mind was full of thoughts like "she is so close, she smells so good, what did she say just now?"
"Brother Cui? Brother Cui?"
The repeated clear calls finally brought Cui Boxu back to his senses, but his face was burning hot and his heartbeat was out of control. "I...I understand, Sister Yun Wu, don't worry, I will never reveal a single word to anyone during our conversation today."
"That's good."
Yun Ran breathed a sigh of relief, stepped back, and smiled at him: "Anyway, thank you very much."
"I've just arrived in Chang'an and don't have many friends. Apart from my family, you're the only one who's worried about my life. I'll remember your kindness. If you need any help in the future, I'll do my best to help you."
After saying this, she looked up at the sky and bowed to Cui Boxu. "I have an appointment with the host at 3 p.m., so I have to hurry and find that statue of Laozi. Brother Cui, see you another day."
"See you...goodbye."
Cui Boxu stood there, looking at the delicate figure like a blue butterfly heading into the depths of the bamboo forest, his eyes dazed.
A kind of indescribable and strange emotion arose in my heart, including joy, sorrow, and a hint of melancholy.
In the long pavilion shaded by green bamboos, Sima Jing stood still, looking at the dark blue figure that was getting closer and closer, his eyes particularly dim.
Chang Chun, standing by, was beaming with joy: "Your Highness, did you hear that? The princess said you are not doomed to fail, and your destiny is bright!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his own prince looking at him coldly.
"If even a single word of what happened today gets leaked, I will chop you into eight pieces and throw you into the snake den. Do you understand?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
Chang Chun didn't know which word had caused him bad luck. He wanted to flatter the horse but ended up hitting the horse's hoof. He knelt down and begged for mercy: "Yes, yes, I will never tell anyone."
Sima Jing didn't want to alarm the others, so he looked down at the trembling servant kneeling on the ground and said, "Get up."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Chang Chun kowtowed fearfully, and halfway up, he suddenly stared at Sima Jing's hand and exclaimed, "Your Highness, where is Cui Bao'er?"
Sima Jing lowered his head and saw that his wrist was empty, and his brows furrowed.
That playful guy must have slipped away while he was distracted.
"Find it quickly." He said in a deep voice.
"Yes, yes."
Chang Chun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and busily searched everywhere in the pavilion.
I had only turned half a circle when I suddenly heard His Highness say, "No need to look for it."
Chang Chun: “……?”
Turning back, I saw His Highness standing at the edge of the stairs, facing forward, and not far away from where his sight was—
The future princess was frowning and holding a long branch in a stiff posture. The green thing wrapped around the end of the branch was actually the little snake Cui Baoer!
The autumn wind blows gently, and the bamboo leaves rustle.
"Who are you trying to scare to death by suddenly jumping out like that, little guy?"
Yun Ran stared at the green snake lazily wrapped around a branch, not afraid of people at all, with a speechless look on his face: "Still acting like a spoiled child? If you hadn't met me today, you would have been caught and made into snake soup!"
She looked around and seemed to catch a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of her eye.
Looking closely again, the dense green bamboos were swaying in the wind, and the shadow that just flashed by seemed to be just an illusion.
Yun Ran frowned, but didn't think about it too much. Then he looked at the little snake that was looking at him with its two round black eyes, and sighed helplessly: "Forget it, meeting you today is also fate, I will give you a ride."
As she spoke, she held up the branch around which the little snake was wrapped and continued walking deeper into the bamboo forest.
After walking about a hundred steps, there was a sudden noise behind me.
Thinking of the dark shadow he had just glimpsed, Yun Ran immediately became alert and turned around with the branch raised: "Who?!"
She turned around with such force that the little snake almost lost its grip and fell off.
However, Yun Ran didn't care about these trivial details. She looked at the man walking slowly towards her against the delicate autumn light, and her breath suddenly held.
The man was wearing a loose black brocade robe and a bamboo-patterned belt. Half of his black hair was fixed with a white jade hairpin, and the rest was scattered casually behind him. If a man wore his hair like this, it would be considered unkempt and disrespectful in today's society.
But he had such a handsome face with picturesque features, and even though his hair was messy, it did not diminish his appearance. Instead, it made him look even more elegant and serene, like a god.
Just as Yun Ran was marveling at the fact that there was such a handsome man in the world, the man also opened his eyelids and looked straight at her.
How to describe his eyes?
When the eyelashes droop, it looks like they are holding half a piece of melting snow.
The moment he raised his eyes, they were dark and gloomy. His pitch-black pupils were like a deep ravine, filled with thick, wet and cold venom, with no bottom in sight.
The afternoon sun was clearly warm, but this glance made the surrounding light turn into cold ink. Yun Ran felt a hissing chill from head to toe, and couldn't help shivering.
The little snake that had just wrapped around me staggered and fell down again with a "pop".
She suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly picked up the snake with a branch, saying hastily, "Don't be afraid, this snake is not poisonous. I will get rid of it right away!"
Shouldn't he be afraid?
Sima Jing looked at the young lady in blue skirt in front of him who was picking up the snake stiffly. She looked like she was afraid of snakes, worried that he was afraid of snakes, and afraid that he would hurt the snake. His brows frowned slightly.
He didn't say anything, but walked to the distance of a tree branch from Yun Ran. Then, in her shocked eyes, he stretched out his hand towards the small green snake wrapped around the branch: "Stupid thing, come back."
As if smelling its master's scent, the little green snake immediately snaked up along the big bony hand and skillfully wrapped around the man's wrist.
Yun Ran froze to the side, with nothing but shock in his eyes—
Oh my God, this guy actually let a snake crawl on his body and he didn't even look like he was changing his expression!
She swallowed and looked at the person in front of her again, her heart beating with anxiety.
Bamboo forest, green snake, stunning appearance, and a mysterious man who suddenly appeared...
Could it be that he is!
Yun Ran's eyes widened slightly. Was it the spirit of the Zhenwu Patriarch? Or was it one of the snake generals under the Zhenwu Patriarch?
But this thought only lasted for a moment. After seeing the man's shadow falling to the ground, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense heartstrings relaxed slightly.
"Sir...sir, did you raise this snake?"
Yun Ran asked in a low voice, and tried hard to force herself not to imagine the feeling of the little snake wrapped around her wrist, and only cast her eyes on the man's pleasing face.
Sima Jing hummed, then asked, "Where were you planning to take it?"
Seeing his frown and cold tone, Yun Ran quickly waved her hand and explained, "Don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean to hurt it. I just saw it in the middle of the road and was worried it might be seen by other pilgrims and hurt, so I planned to take it deep into the woods and find a secluded place to release it."
When she said this, her eyes were clear and her words were fluent, without any sign of lying.
Sima Jing's eyes showed a strange color as he stared at her: "Aren't you afraid of snakes?"
Yun Ran: "I'm afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid of snakes..."
As soon as she said that, she suddenly choked. The person in front of her was not afraid at all.
"Well, what I mean is that most people are afraid of snakes. A small number of people have special quirks about them. As long as it doesn't bother others, it's harmless."
She tried to make an excuse, but when she saw the man's expression didn't change, she stopped. "It's mainly because the one you have is a green viper, not poisonous, that I dared to pick it with a branch. If it was a bamboo leaf viper, I wouldn't even bother picking it up, I'd run away."
Sima Jing: “…”
She is honest.
"Speaking of which, my dear, are you also a pilgrim visiting Xuandu Temple?"
Yun Ran asked curiously, his eyes fixed on the young man in front of him.
Sima Jing frowned at her unabashed gaze, and his tone grew even colder: "Why are you staring at me?"
Yun Ran blinked, thinking, "Do I even need to ask this? He doesn't have a bronze mirror at home, but there must be water in the basin."
She's so pretty, can you blame others for looking at her more?
Of course she didn't dare say this. What if he thought she was a pervert and let a snake bite her?
"I just think that you look familiar..."
Yun Ran narrowed her eyes, deliberately blurring the man's face, focusing only on his outline: "Have we met somewhere before?"
“………”
Thinking of what she had said to Cui Boxu under the ginkgo tree, Sima Jing was silent for a moment and said, "I don't know him."
"You really don't know him?"
Yun Ran frowned and looked at him more seriously: "But why do I feel that not only your figure, but also your voice seems a little familiar..."
The long fingers hidden in his sleeves moved. Sima Jing resisted the urge to turn her head away and gave her a cold glance: "If this is how you approach men from other places, it's too old-fashioned."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left without waiting for Yun Ran to speak.
Looking at the tall figure that quickly disappeared among the green bamboos, Yun Ran was puzzled: "What?"
Who was accosting him? It was obviously he who didn't take good care of the snake!
So what if she's pretty? With such a weird temper, no one will like her!
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