Chapter 122: Surge
The snow was as white as fine salt, and the sky and the earth were covered with white.
The snow beneath my feet reached up to my ankles, and it made a squeaking sound when I stepped on it.
Chen Qing opened the umbrella, took a step forward, and then paused. She stepped back resignedly, and the umbrella tilted to the right - just enough to cover him.
The umbrella was just big enough to accommodate the two of them, but as they walked through the thick snow, their shoes and socks inevitably got soaked. Chen Qing puffed out his cheeks and kicked the snow in anger.
The next moment, her body suddenly flew into the air and fell into a strong embrace.
Chen Qing climbed up the pole and shouted, "Don't hold me, carry me on your back!"
Li Daoxuan did as she wished.
Contented and guilt-free, Chen Qing asked the wounded man to carry her on his back. Perhaps because he was wearing such thin clothing, she showed some mercy. She opened her goose-yellow cloak and wrapped him up tightly in it.
Li Daoxuan's heart trembled.
From a distance, it looked like he was carrying a goose yellow ball on his back.
Chen Qing lay on his shoulder, thinking guiltily: It seems that he still hasn't noticed that Liulixin is gone.
.
The snow was falling really heavily, and the chanting ended early today. Everyone stayed in their rooms to keep warm. Apart from a few monks sweeping the snow, no one else was seen outside the hall.
A very red plum blossom bloomed in the snow. Drop by drop, the white boots stumbled into the snow and stumbled a few steps.
Gu Ze's body swayed and he barely held on to a plum tree. Blood kept flowing from his mouth and he gradually felt dizzy.
There was a chaotic sound of footsteps coming from behind him. Gu Ze took a breath and walked forward again.
Until his consciousness was completely blurred, he followed his instinct and knocked open a guest room. He instantly fell to the ground, his body soaked in blood, looking very miserable.
There was a charcoal fire burning in the house, and warmth kept blowing on my cheeks. The door behind me was wide open, and the biting cold wind rushed into the house and swept away the warmth.
The person inside the house seemed to have been disturbed from a deep sleep. He was filled with anger and cursed, "Who is so blind as to bang on the door and not close it?"
Shi Qinglan was wrapped in a thick quilt and rushed out with a sword in hand without even having time to put on his shoes.
Lying on the ground was a man who looked like a monster. He was wearing white clothes, had black hair and his body was covered in blood. He was holding a half-sized box tightly in his hand.
"Bang—"
The sword flew out of his hand and fell to the ground.
Shi Qinglan looked outside the house with a serious expression. Heavy snow was falling from the sky, accompanied by a hidden fog that swallowed everything.
There were almost inaudible footsteps approaching here. He immediately closed the door and bolted it to prevent it from being opened a second time.
He dragged the person into the house and settled him down. As if he was worried, he found a secluded place to hide the person. After doing all this, Shi Qinglan was already sweating profusely.
Who would be so bold as to hunt down an imperial official in broad daylight in Dongshan Temple?
He was about to pull away when Gu Ze seemed to sense something and grabbed his robe, his lips half open and half closed, and he couldn't tell what he was saying.
Shi Qinglan put his ear close to the ground and listened carefully. He didn't know what he heard, but his pupils suddenly constricted. He took a few steps back and said, "Impossible! My father is not that kind of person!"
He opened his eyes wide and saw Gu Ze covered in scars. He also remembered that the Sage had suddenly fallen ill not long ago and the Crown Prince had temporarily taken over the government.
These two things were like thunder, exploding in his mind, intertwined with Gu Ze's current embarrassed appearance and the whispers he had just heard, weaving into an airtight net that made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
Shi Qinglan's voice trembled, his fingertips were cold, "My father... How could he be related to, to...? Gu Ze, are you mistaken? Or is someone deliberately trying to sow discord?"
Gu Ze coughed twice, and the blood from the corner of his mouth stained his clothes red. He raised his eyes, with a trace of fatigue in them, but also with unusual clarity: "Qinglan, I know it's hard for you to believe. But the saint fell ill too suddenly, and now the situation is chaotic..."
"I only believe in you——" I can only believe in you.
Gu Ze frowned, tilted his head, and fainted completely.
Shi Qinglan was in a state of panic. He sneered a few times, "Gu Ze, I know you are deliberately trying to make trouble for me. You did this to me a lot when we were in the Imperial Academy, causing me to be punished by the teacher many times. Now you are making up such a big lie to tease me!"
Shi Qinglan's voice was vague, with a kind of forced effort that even he couldn't deceive, but his fingertips were tightly grasping Gu Ze's collar, and his knuckles were so white that they seemed to be digging into the other's flesh.
But the man didn't respond, his breathing was as weak as a candle in the wind, and the wound on the back of his neck was still bleeding, soaking half of his sleeve.
The warm and sticky touch made his heart tighten, and the self-deceiving words he had just said instantly shattered into pieces.
Shi Qinglan has regarded him as his mortal enemy since childhood and wants to compete with him in everything. He also knows Gu Ze best. He knows that Gu Ze is a fair and honest person and is the last person to tell such a lie.
“Bang, bang, bang—”
Shi Qinglan raised his eyes alertly, immediately took off his bloodstained clothes, and changed into clean pajamas.
"Who is it? Are you tired of living because you dare to disturb my sleep?" Shi Qinglan opened the door aggressively, sword in hand.
He silently clenched his sword, his eyes swept over the group of people at the door, his heart sinking.
He is the secret guard of the prince's cousin——
Shi Qinglan: "What's the matter?"
The leader bowed and said, "Master, we have been ordered to capture the fugitive."
He sneered, "On orders, on whose orders?"
"Of course it belongs to the prince."
"Master, calm down. Allow us to search for him. If we can't find him, we will leave."
He sneered, "What if I don't?"
Secret Guard: "Then please forgive me for the offense."
The pressure around Shi Qinglan continued to grow. After a long moment, he slightly turned sideways and snorted coldly.
Several secret guards searched the house again and again, even the beams, but to no avail. Shi Shaoqing suppressed his anger and said, "Now that you're done, why don't you get out of here?"
The secret guard gave a look to a few people, and they immediately left the house.
"Master Shaoqing, I'm sorry for the offense." He bowed to the person who had been standing by the door.
Shi Qinglan slammed the door shut, sweating profusely. He turned around and saw the person the secret guards had been searching for in vain sitting behind the door. Shi Qinglan was standing beside the door, just blocking the blood on the ground.
Shi Qinglan carried the man onto the bed and hid him, then quickly opened a corner of the tightly closed window and pulled the cloth on Gu Ze's body and hung it on the edge of the window frame.
"Bang——" The door was broken open unexpectedly, and the leader of the secret guards made a surprise attack.
Shi Qinglan slammed the window shut and said, as if trying to cover his ears while stealing a bell, "How dare you! What are you doing now? Aren't you afraid that I will tell my cousin the Crown Prince and punish you?"
The secret guard stared at the blood-stained piece of cloth on the corner of the window with a sharp gaze. He said quietly, "Chase—"
.
The snow was falling really heavily and soon it was up to my calf's height.
Chen Qing took a bath and Cui Ya was applying rose water on her.
I don’t know what Li Daoxuan said to this girl before, but when she saw Chen Qing, she stopped hugging her and crying, and calmed down a lot.
Cui Ya muttered softly, "This heavy snow has been falling for several days. The prayer for the Saint was supposed to last only a month, but the road down the mountain was blocked by the heavy snow, so it has been delayed until now."
"I don't know if I can go home for the New Year this year."
Chen Qing said, "It doesn't matter where we live. Mother won't be home this year anyway."
The vague worry in her heart was like seaweed in the tide, making her breathing a little sluggish.
In her previous life, her mother passed away early. She was a lonely bird frozen by the cold wind, with only herself in her eyes and heart. When Li Zhibai blocked her way, she could naturally kill him without blinking an eye. But now it is different——
She was still wearing the cloak her mother had made for her before she passed away, wrapping her in warmth. In her hand, she held the letter her grandfather had sent her, filled with his concern and condolences. These warm days were something she could never have prayed for in her previous life, even if she had knelt at his grave and cried until she vomited blood.
If she were still alone like in her previous life, she could just rush into the East Palace with a knife, even if it meant dying together with him, to stir up trouble.
But now... her fingertips stroked the fluffy hair on the collar, she lowered her eyes, buried her little face in it, and took a deep breath, as if the scent of her mother was still lingering on it.
The blood debt from the previous life must be avenged, but it must never be at the cost of peace in this life.
"Cui Ya, what is Li Daoxuan doing?"
"Prince Cang..." Cui Ya's eyebrows knitted together, "My lady, I don't know either."
"Whatever. What happened to Li Yu?"
"Now he is imprisoned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and no one is allowed to see him."
Shen Qing pondered for a moment and decided to write a letter to her parents. Putting down the wolf-hair brush, she folded a bird with a talisman.
The talisman bird held the letter in its mouth, shook its wings, and flew away.
She went out alone with an umbrella, hiding herself from others, and arrived at Li Yu's residence.
There were many people guarding around, so she sneaked in using Taoist magic. When she opened the door, she saw Li Yu with red eyes from crying.
Li Yu thought it was someone around the prince. She was about to get angry, but a small hand covered her mouth.
"Shh-"
Li Yu's eyes instantly turned red, and tears as big as beans fell down. She hugged Chen Qing and cried fiercely: "Why did you come just now? I was about to be bullied to death!"
"Chen Youan, can you take me out? My brother is in trouble and I want to see him!"
Shen Youan asked, "Is the talisman I gave you when I got married still there?"
Li Yu nodded while sobbing, and Chen Qing followed her gaze downwards. There was a sachet hanging around Li Yu's waist, and inside it was the talisman that Chen Qing had given her.
Chen Qing opened the sachet and looked inside. Inside, there suddenly appeared a talisman folded into a triangle shape and a dead insect.
Seeing this strange-looking insect, Chen Qing felt a surge of fear in his heart.
She carefully examined Li Yu's body again, making sure she wasn't poisoned. Then she took her hand and said, "Come on, I'll take you out."
When Li Yu heard the news of his brother's death and was locked up here for many days, he was already furious and at a loss, so he could only follow Shen Youan obediently.
Chen Qing sent the people to the outside of Dongshan Temple. Not far away, a figure suddenly approached, holding a horse in his hand.
The two of them paused. The wind and snow died down a bit. Li Daoxuan walked over, leading the horse. "Sister."
Li Yu said blankly, "A'man."
"Here are valuables and identification documents. Someone will secretly protect you along the way. Just keep a low profile and you will arrive safely."
"Chang'an is unsafe these days. Sister is going to another place to avoid the storm. When the snow stops, I will take her home."
Li Yu opened his mouth and finally got on the horse.
"You've been the most opinionated person since you were young. I have one more favor to ask of you."
"Sister said."
"Be good to Shen Youan, help me..." She bit her lip, "Protect Gu Ze for me, she is the one my sister likes."
"Sister thanks you here."
She continued, "Ajin found Gao Haizhou's body in the pile of dead bodies near the Huazhou embankment. He has buried the body for you. There was a box on the body, and now the box is in Gu Ze's hands."
She gathered her sleeves and rode away.
Li Daoxuan pulled Shen Qing and said, “Let’s go.”
Shen Qing was still a little confused, "You don't blame me?"
"Why do you blame me?"
"I, I didn't prepare anything, and I kidnapped your sister alone."
Li Daoxuan: "You've already sent out half of your personal guards, isn't that enough?"
The "secret guard" he mentioned was exactly the shadow that Ye Niang left for him.
"This is your first time doing something like this, so you're a little unfamiliar with it."
Chen Qing curled her lips, "You are the best."
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