Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Only Madam
Before daybreak, the marquis rode out of the capital on his horse, stepping on the remaining snow.
The Marquis kept Chong'an and only told him one thing.
At that time, the man's eyes fell on the dark window of the main room.
"Don't let Madam leave Beijing during the three days I'm away."
Chong'an was startled.
He looked up at the Marquis and saw that the Marquis said again, "If you fail to stop her..."
Chong'an knelt down quickly and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will definitely keep my wife in the capital!"
However, the Marquis shook his head.
Under the dim porch light, the swaying light looked slightly pale in the cold winter wind, and the Marquis's eyes were still fixed on his lady's window.
"If she is determined to leave, you can't stop her."
The angry lantern was blown upward by the wind, and the flame dimmed, and the light shining on the marquis' eyes also dimmed for a few breaths.
But immediately, the man's eyes fixed on the light again.
"If you find the missing lady, send someone to report to me immediately without any delay!"
After the Marquis left, Chong'an stood guard at the gate of the Madam's main courtyard without even having any meal, not daring to go anywhere else.
But everything is normal here, madam:
She got up, washed, and set the table. Qiulin, the maidservant beside the lady, drew a curtain in the bamboo forest behind the main courtyard and boiled tea with a small stove. The lady put on a thick cloak and sat in the bamboo forest reading for half an hour. She was interrupted by the drizzle in the wind and returned to the courtyard. Qiulin lit incense in the west wing, which was converted into the lady's study, and asked the lady if she wanted to go over... ...
Chong'an was listening at the gatehouse in the main courtyard. He heard that his wife did not respond to Qiulin's words, but instead said thoughtfully, "She hasn't been out for a while. Ask someone to harness the carriage and go out for a walk."
Chong'an was startled suddenly.
Unexpectedly, the lady said something else, and the words floated over from the courtyard along with the wind, "Go and invite Guard An over and tell him."
Chong'an walked quickly to the Madam without being invited, "Madam, you are going out? Where are you going? Let me prepare the car."
Is it true that he is going to leave the capital as the Marquis expected?
Chong'an was already worried, but then he heard Qiulin say, "Madam wants to visit several bookstores in Chongjiaofang."
Chongjiaofang is near Andingmen in the northeast of the capital. Because there is the Imperial College in the square, it has become a gathering place for scholars and writers. The bookstores in the room collect contemporary articles from all over the world. Articles that may not appear elsewhere for three to five years will appear in Chongjiaofang for the first time.
Madam is a scholar, different from the military commanders in the Yongding Marquis's mansion, these are the original words of the Marquis. And it's not out of the city, Chong'an can't stop it directly, he hesitated and tried.
"Before the Marquis left, he said that a group of thieves had recently sneaked into the capital, and the Five Cities Army was catching thieves everywhere, so things got a bit chaotic. Madam, please take a look..."
He mentioned the Marquis and glanced at his wife.
The lady smiled slightly when she heard this.
"My chambermaids are all busy outside, and there is no one around except a few maids. In this case, Guard An can assign two or three people to drive the car for me, so that I can go early and come back early."
He didn't mention the Marquis at all, but borrowed some manpower from him.
Chong'an had no choice but to say, "The capital city is crowded with people and things are complicated, so I will personally accompany the madam there."
He thought that if his wife insisted on going and didn't let him go with her, there might be some problems.
But Madam nodded in agreement.
The lady's eyes and eyebrows were like an autumn mountain stream, and she was as quiet as usual, "Then I'll trouble Guard An."
Chong'an was in a daze. Was he overthinking?
He was about to respond and leave when someone came to report that a general from the northwestern border had come to pay his respects to the Marquis. Since there was no one in the mansion at the moment, he was the only one who could receive him.
Chong'an was in trouble.
The lady said, "Go ahead and send someone to follow me."
Chong'an felt more and more embarrassed, but his wife did not seem to be leaving Beijing.
He could only call four smart guards to escort him. He planned to spend a quarter of an hour to get rid of the man, and another quarter of an hour to chase after him at Chongjiaofang.
It's only quarter of an hour, it shouldn't be a problem.
However, when he hurried to Chongjiaofang two quarters of an hour later, he saw the four guards he had arranged searching rapidly in the alley.
Chong An paused, "What are you looking for?"
"Master An, the Madam... and the maidservant beside her are all gone!"
Chong'an almost fainted.
The lady really left, just as the Marquis had expected, she left without saying goodbye.
But... why?
"Hurry up, hurry out of the city to look for him!" Chong'an suddenly thought of something.
"Oh, right, hurry up and report to the Marquis!"
*
An inconspicuous carriage was carried out safely after Chong'an's men were sent out of the city one after another.
The car window was shaking, revealing a tiny gap. Qiulin glanced out and saw two guards from the Marquis's Mansion riding horses and searching. They were looking over here, so she quickly looked away.
Kyoto is an important place, and all who come and go are dignitaries. Even if the marquis holds great power, it is impossible for him to arbitrarily check passing carriages, especially those of high-ranking officials and dignitaries.
At the moment, they were sitting, and under the pretext of leaving the capital in the carriage of Dou Ge's family, who were at odds with the Marquis, the Marquis's guards were not convenient to approach and investigate. Someone from Dou Ge's family had just left the capital to return home, and the Marquis's guards would need several days to verify it.
But this journey is long and arduous, and you have to change your name and surname and abandon your original identity.
Qiu Lin looked at his daughter, wanting to ask her if she had really thought it through to leave like this, but he never said it. What the daughter decided to do was something she had already thought about thousands of times in her mind.
If the marriage was not granted by an imperial decree, and the one who granted it was someone as powerful as the Marquis, why would it have come to this?
When it was getting dark, the carriage arrived smoothly at the place arranged in advance by the steward Ruan Gong.
Du Lingjing had a simple meal and went to bed early.
She slept in the innermost part as usual, but this night the dream was like a vine that stretched out and entangled her again and again. She woke up suddenly with a dry mouth.
She sat on the bed and waited.
Since they got married, whenever she woke up at night, someone else would also wake up from his dream. He was a military commander, a light sleeper, and he would always sit up and ask a question.
"Are you thirsty? Would you like some tea?"
But today, the bed was quiet and no one spoke.
Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.
Qiulin was sleeping on the other side of the room. She didn't call anyone, but took her clothes and put them on her shoulders.
But just as she put her clothes on her shoulders, she inexplicably felt someone's warm fingertips gently grasping her shoulders, "Don't get out of bed, I'll go get you a cup of warm tea."
Du Lingjing was stunned.
This has been happening every night for the past few days.
But last night, the night wind made the door creak. He took the teacup from her after she finished drinking the water, but did not turn off the small lamp immediately. Instead, he said something.
"I will be returning to Beijing in two days. Would you mind bringing back a few pots of flowers along the way?"
Du Lingjing didn't understand what he meant for a moment, until he said another sentence, and his already hoarse voice became even lower.
"Wait for me at home."
She looked up in surprise, and he lowered his head to look at her, his eyes fixed on the moonlight scattered under the window. The room was as quiet as it was at this moment.
Du Lingjing didn't remember how she answered last night, but suddenly, she seemed to hear the sound of galloping horses outside the courtyard.
*
The group galloped on horseback at night, and when they came down the hillside to the gate of the courtyard in the faint light of dawn, they could vaguely see a small light on in the courtyard.
Everyone's eyes lit up, especially Chong'an, who immediately turned over and jumped off his horse.
He was about to push the door open, but he heard someone behind him whispering something to him.
"Be quiet and don't alarm the lady."
Chong'an quickly held his breath and walked quickly to the door. However, just as he raised his hand, the wooden door creaked open.
The north wind blew through the hall, the yard was empty, and even the small lamp that was on just a moment ago was shaking and extinguished in the lamp oil.
"Madam, Madam, they're gone?" Chong'an couldn't believe it.
After his wife disappeared, he could not find any trace of her. It was not until the Marquis got the news and rushed over that he found someone from the so-called "Dou Mansion" and followed the clues to find her.
He originally thought that the Marquis would be able to find his wife since he was so quick to react, but who would have thought, "How come he failed? Is his wife so determined to leave?"
The words were floating around, and his eldest brother Chongping glanced at him anxiously, and he quickly shut his mouth.
He looked at the Marquis, who said nothing and walked in. He walked to the extinguished light and looked down at the key next to it.
It was a copper key, and the top of the key was cast in the shape of a tall and exquisite library.
Guilin Tower, a library in the suburbs of Beijing second only to the royal Wenlan Pavilion, was built by craftsmen lent by the Ministry of Works to the palace.
It is the betrothal gift that the Marquis prepared for his wife.
But at this moment, the betrothal gift key was left behind and specifically left here.
Is Madam telling the Marquis not to look for her anymore?
The remaining smoke from the oil lamp floated in the air and pierced people's nostrils.
Chong'an saw the Marquis lower his head and smiled faintly in the light of dawn. But the Marquis didn't say anything in the end, he just silently took the key to Guilin Tower into his arms.
The sun had not yet risen when it was blocked by the clouds that were drizzling with rain. It was dark under the eaves and no one spoke. Chong'an only saw his elder brother Chongping hesitantly step forward and ask a question amid the Marquis' silence.
"Master, are you still looking?"
*
We set out before daybreak, and the wind was favorable, so we traveled very fast. However, we only traveled a short distance, and then we reached the end.
Unfortunately, they passed by a small town in the afternoon and encountered a gathering there. The carriage was so congested that no one could get through. Du Lingjing had just asked Qiu Lin to get off the carriage when Qiu Lin fell on the roots of a tree by the roadside and convulsed.
Du Lingjing herself was not feeling well either, so she walked a few steps to the other side where the wind was stronger, and walked forward alone among the crowd.
She had not walked fast in the past two days, and spent most of her time thinking about how to hide her whereabouts, so that she would still be under that person's nose before leaving the capital. As long as she could successfully sneak out of Northern Zhili and enter Shandong, even if she did not return to her hometown in Qingzhou, she would have her own secret place to stay temporarily. But if she wanted to leave Northern Zhili, it would take at least three days.
Du Lingjing was calculating secretly, but she didn't expect that a strong wind suddenly blew up at the intersection ahead. The wind carried sand and stones and blew the crowded pedestrians on the street blind.
The already crowded streets immediately became a mess.
Some people screamed, and some raised their hands to push. In the chaos, Du Lingjing didn't know who pushed her, but as soon as she staggered back a step, someone held her arm steadily.
She couldn't help but say, "Thank you."
After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look, and at one glance, her eyes widened instantly.
The man's familiar face came closer to her, and his hands were already everywhere in the crowd, near and far.
Du Lingjing knew she couldn't get away, but she couldn't help but turn away from him, but he grabbed her wrist.
"The wind is too strong. Your body can't handle it. Don't go there."
She did not turn around. "I don't think this road is windy. As long as I'm not traveling with the Marquis, this little wind is nothing."
She said this before turning back to look at him, "If you are willing to let me leave alone, I will be very grateful."
Hearing this, the man laughed in a hoarse voice, "Are you coming back then?"
"Since I've left, I won't come back."
"But what if you already have our child?"
His eyes fell on her lower abdomen, paused, and then returned to her face and looked into her eyes.
It was like his hands with light calluses were caressing her shoulders and waist in the dim tent... Du Lingjing was startled for a moment, then looked away.
"Nothing is possible."
Cold words, cold brows and cold eyes.
She had never treated him with even one-fifth of the tenderness she had shown her former fiancés Jiang Zhuxiu and Jiang Sanlang, and now she had even less than half the tenderness.
But she and he are the couple who are destined to be together forever.
The man laughed even harder, his low, hoarse voice letting out a soft chuckle.
"It's really my fault that my wife is so dissatisfied with me."
He shook his head, laughing at himself and blaming himself.
The crowded crowd was evacuated at some point, and the wind blew a strand of hair in front of his forehead into the air.
But at this moment he took a step forward, until he was just inches away from her.
Du Lingjing subconsciously wanted to step back, but he held her wrist tightly.
"I have done it before, I know it, but the more so, the more I can't let you leave. The Buddhist scriptures say that if one repents, the sin will be eliminated. Please give me a chance, and allow me to repent and eliminate my sins in this life, is that okay?"
Every word reached her with his intense gaze.
Du Lingjing couldn't escape from his grasp, and she didn't know how there could be such a person in the world who could use confession as an excuse and say it so easily.
The man pretended not to notice the contempt in his wife's eyes. He reached down, held her hand, and led her back from a distance.
But she suddenly smiled.
"Was Lord Lu going too far? He set up a trap to get the imperial decree to grant me marriage, and then he deceived and lied everywhere, and now he has come here specifically to imprison me in the capital."
She snorted and laughed, "May I ask Lord Lu, what are you thinking about?"
She called him Lu Hou.
The man did not answer her immediately. He took out a handkerchief from his arms and gently put the thing wrapped in the handkerchief into the pouch on her waist.
It is the key to Guilin Tower.
"Don't lose it again."
She pursed her lips and stared into his eyes, asking him to answer her question.
The man paused slightly, smiled slowly at his wife, and spoke each word very slowly.
"I am thinking only of you, my lady."
... ...
Outside the car window, the mountains rise and fall, and from a distance they look like a beautiful sight in the sky. However, for the ordinary people going up and down the mountains, the ups and downs are unbearable and there is no end in sight.
Du Lingjing could never have imagined that six months ago, she was just passing through the capital city to collect books. This brief passage would trap her in this vortex of power and gossip that she disliked the most.
*
"Only the Lady of Marquis Xu" is written by Fa Cai, the first official version.
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