A transaction
As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Ling took out a key from her body. She caught it as the lock was falling, making two soft, clicking sounds that went unnoticed by anyone.
“I’ll stay here for you. Go out. There’s someone guarding the door. He will take you to see my master,” Yu Ling said to Li Yin.
Upon hearing this, Li Yin went out, and Yu Ling went in. The two circled each other, as if looking in a mirror.
Li Yin followed his memory to the door, and sure enough, there was a person there.
The man leaned against the wall, arms crossed. He was dressed in gray. When he saw Li Yin, he looked slightly surprised, raised his eyebrows, and widened his eyes. He said in a slightly incredulous tone, "You are Li Yin?"
Li Yin nodded and said, "You look exactly like Yu Ling, and your voice is similar too."
I wonder if my master can recognize me at a glance; he certainly can't.
Li Yin remained silent, and the man then remembered his business. He glanced at the guards in the distance.
He squinted. The person was quite far away, and a normal person would be able to see him clearly, but his eyesight was poor, so from where he stood, he could only see a tiny black dot.
He said, "Please, young lady."
After saying this, the man led the group, and Li Yin followed behind him. The man walked very fast and very lightly, like a falling feather, so that he could be seen but not heard.
The man led Li Yin to a rockery. He peeked out, looked around, and only after making sure no one was there did he pull his head back and press it against the rockery.
He reached out and tapped three times lightly. Then, with a clear sound, Li Yin's feet suddenly lost their footing, and her body abruptly lost its weight, causing her to fall straight down.
The artificial hill recedes, the blue sky fades into the distance, the view gradually shrinks, and the light dims.
She fell to the ground, but the ground was soft, like a bed.
Li Yin reached out and touched his surroundings, but touched someone's hand. The person's fingers were long, with distinct knuckles, and felt cold and smooth to the touch.
Li Yin withdrew his hand as soon as he touched hers, but that slightly cold hand gently and quietly touched her wrist.
Li Yin raised his hand and shoved the man away. The man remained silent and simply let go of his grip.
Seeing that the other party did not move, Li Yin also stopped moving. However, with everything in complete darkness, he couldn't help but feel a little flustered, unsure whether the other party was friend or foe.
But no matter how panicked she was, it was useless. The person in front of her was in the dark, and she didn't know or understand him.
She was starting to miss Wen Youqing; that person always gave her a sense of security.
She gripped the sheets tightly, wrinkling them in the darkness, just like her slightly troubled heart. If only Wen Youqing were here.
But when did she need someone else?
She endured so many years of hardship, being trapped in a valley, being hunted, being poisoned and injured, and almost losing her life.
She lowered her eyes, waiting for the man's next move.
The man reached out and grabbed her wrist again. Li Yin remained still, waiting for the man's next move.
The man simply lifted her hand and placed it somewhere, where Li Yin's fingertips vaguely touched something resembling an Adam's apple.
The fabric rustled as the person drew closer, and Li Yin's hand was placed on his neck.
Li Yin suddenly tightened his grip, grabbing the man's neck.
Suddenly, a cold light appeared from the side, and a long sword came flying towards Li Yin's face. Li Yin quickly let go, leaned back, and dodged it.
Li Yin then lay down on the bed.
The cold light disappeared, replaced by a faint, warm light—the flickering candlelight.
The dim candlelight slightly illuminated this small corner of the place. Li Yin was covered in dust, and the corner of his green clothes was covered in dirt, making him look a little disheveled.
By the candlelight, Li Yin could see the person clearly. The person had a pair of affectionate peach blossom eyes, a mole at the corner of the eye, and a sickly air about him, but his complexion was rosy.
He was dressed in a yellow brocade robe with auspicious clouds embroidered on the hem, and a jade pendant engraved with the character "Song" hung at his waist.
The black-clad guard beside him knelt down on one knee before the man, bowing his head as he asked, "Master, this man..."
Before he could speak, the King of Song gently raised his hand, signaling the man to ignore him.
The guard then stood up, walked around to the side, and stood quietly.
Li Yin asked, "Are you the master of Yuling?"
Zhao Song softly replied with an "Mm".
The two then fell silent.
All around was quiet, the candlelight flickered, there was no wind, and the shadows did not sway.
In the end, it was Zhao Song who broke the awkward silence, saying, "Aren't you Yuling?"
Li Yin said, "Of course I am not her. Didn't you realize that?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Song fell silent. He said, "No." But as he spoke, he lowered his eyelids, concealing the expression in his eyes.
But did he really not know?
Of course not. He hid the hand that had just touched Li Yin's wrist in his sleeve and behind his back, as if he no longer wanted to see it.
Upon seeing this, the guard beside him quickly asked, "Master, has the poison flared up again? Should we go and search for Yuling again?"
Zhao Song said, "No need." He looked up at Li Yin and asked, "Do you like Wen Youqing?"
Li Yin propped herself up with her hands. Upon hearing this, she paused and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Zhao Song said, "How about we make a deal? Be my Princess Song, and all I need is your identity."
Li Yin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and said, "Why should I make a deal with you?"
Zhao Song said, "Yu Ling is seriously injured. If you want to save her, then make this deal with me."
Li Yin said, "She is your person, loyal to you, yet you use her life to threaten her?"
Zhao Song said calmly, "I have clues about the massacre of the Li family. We've made a deal, so I can help you."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin was slightly moved, but how could she explain it to Wen Youqing?
She didn't know.
She lowered her eyelids. Her purpose in coming to the capital was to investigate the case, take revenge, and then leave. Now, another opportunity had appeared before her, but she hesitated.
If she really did that, what would happen to Wen Youqing?
Crossing the river and then dismantling the bridge?
As she thought about it, the image of Wen Youqing's angry face appeared in her mind. The person had red eyes and forced her to look up, questioning her.
"Li Yin, why did you leave?"
"Li Yin, you are not allowed to leave."
...
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Yu Ling looks exactly like me. You can also look for her."
Zhao Song replied, "But the Li family girl is you now, not her."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin said, "If you only want the identity, I will give it to her, but you must help me fake my death and escape, and you must also help me avoid Wen Youqing. If you can do these three things, then I will make a deal with you."
Zhao Song nodded upon hearing this and said, "Alright, it's a deal, but you must take this poison."
After saying that, he took out a black box from behind him. He gently opened the box, and a faint fragrance of medicine wafted out. Li Yin smelled it and knew what the medicine was and what its effect was.
It's not poison at all, but a healing medicine, and it also has the effect of a mind-altering drug.
Li Yin took the black pill and placed it in his palm. Then he raised his head, put the pill in his mouth, and swallowed it.
The bitter aroma spread in her mouth, and she frowned slightly; the medicine was so bitter that her tongue felt sore.
Zhao Song watched Li Yin eat. He had been looking behind Li Yin's ear, but when Li Yin raised his head, he looked away.
Then, with a "thud," Li Yin collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Song raised his hand to extinguish the candle, turned around and picked up a lamp. He gently shone the lamp on Li Yin's side, looked at Li Yin for a long time, and then said to the person beside him, "Bring Yuling back."
The guard bowed respectfully, saluted, said "Yes," and then turned to leave.
Zhao Song carried a lantern and walked out quietly. After leaving the basement and coming upstairs, he handed the lantern to a maid standing to the side who was dressed in purple and had her hair tied in double buns.
The maidservant lowered her head, bent her knees, stretched out her hands, took the lantern, and silently retreated to the side.
Zhao Song looked at the chessboard on the table, raised his hand and took out a piece from the pile of black pieces. He gently placed the piece down, and the situation for the white pieces was not optimistic.
He said, "Wen Youqing, your weakness is too obvious."
In the basement.
After Zhao Song left, Li Yin opened her eyes. It seemed that Yu Ling had not revealed her medical skills to anyone.
She really needed what the man had just said, but it was just empty talk without any concrete evidence, so she couldn't believe him. However, the man could help her escape her current predicament.
Today's events, with the Wen family jade token, can be seen as a warning to the Wen family by others, planting a seed of suspicion in front of the monarch.
If Wen Youqing were to forcibly save her from this situation, it would likely backfire. She and Wen Youqing were already in a cooperative relationship, and she didn't want to have any further contact with Wen Youqing.
This time, her "death" can be considered as saving the Wen family from disaster, which is the best outcome for Wen Youqing, as they are now even.
But thinking this way, she felt inexplicably uneasy. What was wrong with her?
Maybe... I'm not used to it yet.
She smiled, amused that she had actually gotten used to someone, not disliked them, and even liked them a little.
Fortunately, she wasn't too deeply involved, and she was still able to leave.
In the darkness, she got up and, relying on her memory, tiptoed to a step's handrail. She felt it before gently stepping onto it.
Her movements were very light and made no sound. After walking up a few steps, she heard someone say, "Wen Youqing, your weakness is too obvious."
Upon hearing this, she stopped in her tracks.
I wanted to hear what this person would say again, but there was no sound.
On the ground, Zhao Song was looking at the chess pieces on the table. He sat down on a chair and stared straight out the window.
Outside the window, a ginkgo tree is winding its branches, and its huge trunk is covered in a golden hue.
As the wind blows, the leaves rustle. Under the blazing sun, the shadows of the trees quietly fall onto the white wall. When the wind blows, the leaves sway gently, the trees move, and the shadows grow longer.
This tree is where he first met Yu Ling. At that time, she was covered in dirt, her face and hands were covered in dust, as if she had just run out of a fire, but her eyes were bright, very bright, like stars.
It's been a long time, and he's forgotten what he was thinking when he accepted Yu Ling and said to that person, "Follow me, and I'll guarantee you a life of plenty."
From then on, whenever he saw the tree outside his window, he would think of Yuling.
When he saw the tree, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, but he didn't realize it himself.
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