Chapter 63: Human or Ghost?
In the third year of Qing'an, Ruan Jinling walked for half a month in the damp and cold spring rain, finally escaping the women's garden that had imprisoned her for ten years.
The spring rain drizzled incessantly. Ruan Jinling, who had been fleeing through the mountain stream, was soaked to the bone. Her clothes were torn and tattered by the grass and trees, and there were red marks of varying shades on her face and neck. Her long, black hair was haphazardly tied back with a wooden stick, and clung to her head in wisps of messy strands.
After two weeks of continuous travel, her ankles were swollen and red, her feet were covered in blisters, and she was exhausted. She carefully squatted down in the grass, covering herself with branches and leaves, and nervously watched the people and horses running on the road.
In a state of panic, yet unable to suppress their curiosity
They were a group of well-trained men, riding strong horses. Each one was robust and tall, with swords at their waists, pulling the reins as they galloped forward; they were quite handsome.
The man leading the group, in particular, appeared to be around twenty years old. With handsome features, resolute eyes, and clear phoenix eyes, his white robes further accentuated his ethereal, godlike presence, exuding a serene and upright aura.
The women's garden was bustling with people, and the men guarding it were either hideously ugly, like rotting lobsters in the ground, or had cloudy eyes, like rotting corpses, repulsive and disgusting.
Ruan Jinling had not seen such a handsome man, or rather, such a person, in a long time.
She thought of her father, but ten years had passed, and she could no longer recall what he looked like. She only remembered that he must have been a handsome and gentle man who would hold her on his shoulders, teach her to read, and gently call her "Nannan."
Her mother had passed away even earlier.
A debauched emperor cannot produce honest officials; the entire court is rotten from the inside out. In chaotic times, people are as worthless as weeds; ordinary weeds grow on the ground and can be trampled underfoot, while beautiful orchids are picked in the greenhouse and crushed at will.
Ruan Jinling shrank back and hid herself even more tightly, afraid of being discovered by these people.
But things didn't go as planned. As the clatter of hooves stopped nearby and the noisy footsteps approached her, she knew she had been discovered.
Without a second thought, she plunged back into the mountains, intending to begin another escape.
As for the provisions she had brought along the way, they were running low, and her physical strength was nearing its limit. She might not be able to survive as easily as before when she went into the mountains again.
She couldn't care less.
After death, a person decomposes and rots from the outside in, producing a foul stench that is frightening. But even when a person is alive and motionless, they are still gradually decaying and rotting from the inside out.
Ruan Jinling just wanted to run
She ran as far as she could; even if she couldn't outrun him, she would still run.
She darted through the jungle like a swift hare, leaping over the hillside with all her might. Only when the searching sounds behind her ceased did a slight smile appear on her face, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A person descended from the sky and landed directly in front of her.
Looking at that handsome, god-like man, Ruan Jinling's last bit of strength dissipated, and her legs gave way, causing her to collapse to the ground, like a fawn caught in the clutches of its prey, terrified and helpless.
The arduous journey of fleeing had made her quite thin; her already small face now had a pointed chin, and her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, filled with panic and confusion, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying.
...
She murmured, "Are you a human or a ghost?"
Qu Maoze was pinned to the tree, looking down at the person clutching his collar. He couldn't help but chuckle, his tone teasing: "What does Madam think?"
That year, Ruan Jinling, who was as frightened as a fawn, looked at him with a pleading look and asked him softly if he was a god.
Now, having long since escaped her past hardships and changed her name, Niu Tielan forcefully pinned this man of unknown origin against a tree, forcefully tearing open his collar and demanding to know if he was a human or a ghost.
Time, ah, it truly is the most wondrous thing in the world.
Qu Maoze tilted his head back and chuckled softly. The sparse branches overhead dappled the sunlight onto his handsome face, making him appear more vibrant than the aloof, godlike face he remembered.
Niu Tielan clutched his collar, staring blankly at his exposed chest. The skin was flawless, without countless crisscrossing scars or faint moles.
Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the person laughing heartily with disbelief. Her grip tightened, and her voice came through clenched teeth.
Who exactly are you?
Qu Maoze stopped laughing, lowered his head, and looked up at Niu Tielan, who was looking up at him. Looking into those moist almond-shaped eyes, his gaze deepened, and he slowly and deliberately enunciated each word.
"Madam's question makes it hard for me to tell who has lost their memory. I am Qu Maoze, and I accompanied you all the way back from Shangyang Village. Have you forgotten me? Or is it that..."
Niu Tielan stared at him blankly.
He raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips, with a hint of mockery: "Whom do you take me for, Madam? Although you are as beautiful as a flower, I'm sure you have other beautiful women in my household as well. Is this rather inappropriate?"
Niu Tielan reacted as if burned, immediately releasing her grip on his clothes, but in an instant, she pressed him back down and reached out to scratch his face.
It was warm, with skin and bones intact, and no messy cosmetics.
It's a real, genuine person.
If that's the case, how could it be?
Niu Tielan refused to believe it. Seeing Qu Maoze's mocking expression, she loosened his belt.
Qu Maoze chuckled and pressed her hand down, his voice tender: "Madam, isn't this a bit inappropriate? I'm still young and impetuous, it's not suitable for you to test me like this, is it? There are always people coming and going on Jinling Mountain, hmm, if you really want to, perhaps we could find another place another day."
Niu Tielan pulled her hand back and took two steps back, biting her lip and glaring fiercely at the man: "Who exactly are you?"
I wasn't led by him at all
Qu Maoze sighed softly, and said slowly, "My name is Qu Maoze."
Seeing his appearance, Niu Tielan felt a surge of anger rising within her, but she was also powerless. She lowered her head, turned, and walked down the hillside.
Jinling Mountain is covered with golden bell trees of various sizes. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow, resembling golden leaves scattered across the hillside, while the blossoms resemble strings of golden bells hanging beneath the golden leaves, tinkling in the autumn breeze.
The mountainside is covered in blooming golden bell flowers, which together form a magnificent golden mountain.
Niu Tielan walked all the way to the stream below, found a haystack to sit on, took off her shoes and socks, and dipped her toes into the water.
Autumn has arrived, and the stream water is slightly cool.
She subconsciously lifted her toes, her jade-like feet as white as snow, delicate and smooth, lightly touching the cool water. Her toes were long and shapely, her ankles gently stretched, and her insteps slightly curved, as smooth as a bow, beautiful as if from a painting.
She sat on the green grass, tiptoed a few times to test the water temperature, and only after getting used to it did she put both feet into the stream, gently twisting her toes and stretching her feet that had been walking all the way.
Qu Maoze stood behind her, looking down at her playful little feet in the water, and chuckled, "The stream is cool, Madam, be careful not to catch a cold."
Niu Tielan didn't turn around. She picked up a water clam the size of a fingernail, feeling the warm, smooth water. She murmured, "What's a cold? I've been taking medicine every single day these past few years. I used to find taking medicine annoying, and now I have to eat insects. In my whole life, the thing I've eaten the most is still bitterness."
Qu Maoze's eyes flickered slightly, and he softly comforted her, "No pain, no gain. Your wife will surely enjoy endless sweetness in the future."
Niu Tielan didn't speak. She placed her hands on her neck, lay down on the grass, her eyes lowered, and exuded a deep melancholy. She gave a soft snort.
"In the future? Who can say for sure if there will be another one?"
She thought she had escaped the girls' garden long ago, but after more than ten years, she still carried the brand on her body, wondering if it could ever be removed.
She can live as long as she can, and it won't be a loss for her, but what will her daughter do if she's gone one day?
That child was never one to have a good temper, and was always very wary. Over the years, he seemed to be able to talk to everyone, but there were only a handful he truly cared about. If she were ever gone, just thinking about that child all alone made Niu Tielan's heart clench, and tears welled up in her long eyelashes.
She looked up, her almond-shaped eyes moist and reddening, meeting Qu Maoze's deep gaze. She sniffed softly, her nose slightly red, her expression fragile yet pleading: "You really don't care about her? She's never had a father since she was little, she only has me."
Qu Maoze crouched down, reached out, and gently wiped the corner of her eye with the back of his long, thin fingers, letting out a soft sigh.
"It's so fake."
Niu Tielan's face froze.
Qu Maoze rubbed his damp fingertips, a smile playing on his lips, and said in a drawn-out voice, "Madam must have been living quite well these past few years. Her acting skills, however, are nowhere near what they used to be."
Upon hearing this, Niu Tielan rolled to his feet, then forcefully tackled the man to the ground, grabbing his neck and grinding his teeth as he spoke.
"I knew it was you, you bastard! Is this some kind of fun? Is it fun at all?"
Qu Maoze chuckled to himself, "Isn't this quite interesting?"
Niu Tielan had always believed that this man was dead. Even though she had previously thought that Qu Maoze was that man's son and that she had been deceived by him, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Not only has this person been perfectly fine all these years, but he's also been pretending to tease them lately, and now that he's been exposed, he's still acting like nothing happened.
Niu Tielan was furious. She reached out and scratched him, cursing, "You bastard, you heartless bastard! If you have the guts, play dead! If you have the guts, hide forever! If you're going to die, then die properly! Come out now! What do you want? My daughter and I are doing just fine, and we don't want to see you at all..."
Qu Maoze's neck was being choked, his fair skin gradually turning red and covered with scratches. A smile played on his lips as he let Niu Tielan vent his anger, until strings of tears rolled down his cheeks, falling intermittently.
He raised his hand to touch the corner of her eye, and soon his hand became wet. He sighed softly.
Was this crying due to joy or disappointment?
Niu Tielan's tears stopped abruptly. Clear tears welled up in her eyes and fell in strings, concealing the disbelief in them. She lowered her head to look at the man she had shared a bed with, at his unchanging appearance over the past decade, at the calmness beneath his dark phoenix eyes.
Her rekindled fireworks were doused with a bucket of ice water, and her excitement gradually subsided.
Niu Tielan's vision blurred as she lowered her eyes. The flowing water, like a stream, changed little by little, and once it fell, it couldn't be taken back. Her lips trembled, and she suddenly raised her head, her long, delicate neck tilted back, revealing bluish-purple veins. She raised her sleeve to wipe the wetness from her face, also covering her expression.
a long time
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, repeating this several times. She stood up unsteadily, squatted back down by the river, and, barefoot, splashed the clear water on her face.
The icy stream water was like the rain from that year; it hit me with a chilling coldness that quickly brought me back to my senses.
Niu Tielan looked at her blurred face on the water's surface, then fell silent. She silently picked up her shoes and socks, put them on, gently massaged her weak and limp feet, took a deep breath, and stood up again.
Turn around
Qu Maoze sat half-upright on the grass. His clothes were slightly disheveled from her tickling, and bits of grass were stuck in his hair, but he didn't look messy at all. He rested his elbows on his knees, a smile playing on his lips, as if nothing had happened, quietly watching her.
Are you feeling better?
Niu Tielan's nose stung with tears, but she suppressed them and scoffed, "What's wrong with me? I lived a perfectly good life before, and I will continue to do so. I have a house, fields, land, money, and a princess's daughter. What's wrong with that? It's you who's been suffering from amnesia and pretending to be stupid, looking like you're half-dead. Tsk, it seems you haven't been living a very good life these past few years."
Seeing her reaction, Qu Maoze smiled gently: "To be able to guess that, Madam is truly exceptionally intelligent."
Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Niu Tielan gritted her teeth and continued to mock, "You know it's good that you know it. I don't care what you're trying to do with this pretense, but don't try to drag me and Jinjin into this. Stay away from us from now on."
Qu Maoze sighed, "Madam, you're being too heartless. They say husband and wife are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."
Niu Tielan blurted out, "Without a matchmaker or betrothal, who's your husband?"
Qu Maoze paused for a moment, then asked jokingly, "What is Madam trying to remind me of?"
Niu Tielan retorted angrily, "I'm warning you, go die! If you're going to die, remember to die far away, and don't even think about dragging us, mother and daughter, into it!"
Qu Maoze said slowly, "Alright, let me put it another way. After all, we were lovers in the wild and even had a child. Sigh, Madam has been so silent all these years; she's been too heartless."
Niu Tielan felt a lump in her throat, wanting to kick him, but she tried to calm herself down. After a long while, she finally spoke: "It's good that you know I'm ruthless. Those past events are in the past. For Jinjin's sake, you don't need to repay the fifty taels of silver. Let's pretend we never met. Whether you live or die, it has nothing to do with us."
With that, she strode away.
After her emotional rollercoaster, her legs felt weak and sore. Her feet weren't dry, and they slipped on the grass. She lost her balance and fell.
Qu Maoze came over with a sigh.
Niu Tielan gritted her teeth, pushed the person away with her elbow, and stood up on her hands and feet. Under the golden bellflowers, she stumbled and staggered upwards.
But she was no longer as helpless and alone as Ruan Jinling had been back then.
Qu Maoze stood at the bottom of the slope with a light laugh, watching the girl in the fiery red dress rush to her side. She glared at him fiercely like a little wolf cub, and after a long while, she was reluctantly dragged away.
Until the two figures disappeared
The smile on his face gradually faded. He raised his hand to touch the wound on his neck, pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, and spoke in a barely audible voice.
"That's a classic case of the guilty party accusing the innocent first!"
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