Chapter 39: Xiaoniao Finally, he no longer heard her apology...
Xue Zhiying opened her mouth slightly but couldn't speak.
Most of them were shocked, followed by confusion.
It seemed that she had been experiencing these two emotions repeatedly since Xiao Yunqi appeared in front of her yesterday.
After a brief pause, she let out a sigh, "My dear, I've already returned the last volume of 'The Great Zhou Law' before I left. It's in the library. You'll be able to read it when you return to Beijing."
As he spoke, Xiao Yunqi's expression changed subtly, but it was fleeting and difficult to detect.
He said calmly, "Really? How do you prove you're not lying?"
"……What?"
Does this need to be proven?
"After all, you've already lied to me before. How can I trust you again?"
Xue Zhiying's heart tightened, and she lowered her eyes unreasonably, feeling wronged.
"It's just a book. I didn't have to lie to you. I really have returned it."
Xiao Yunqi whispered these words lightly: "It's just a book."
His eyes became deep and his face looked a little gloomy.
Xue Zhiying said, "It's on the top shelf of the fourth row of bookshelves in the library."
She had accidentally taken the first volume there, so she later returned the last volume to the same place.
She thought, this should be right.
But Xiao Yunqi stared at her and asked inexplicably, "Why didn't you return it to Yunmozhai?"
"This... the eldest son was not at home at the time, so it was inconvenient for me to go to Yunmozhai. The books should be placed in the library, so I returned them."
Xiao Yunqi scoffed lightly: "Miss Xue, do you believe what you said?"
“…”
Xue Zhiying's face inevitably turned hot.
She knew that Xiao Yunqi was hinting at her past uninvited behavior.
But the fact is, she was about to leave and knew that Xiao Yunqi was not there, so why would she go to Yun Mo Zhai?
She can enter the library after asking for permission, but she still needs to find a way to hide her whereabouts in Yunmozhai.
She was too tired to explain any more and just said in a muffled voice, "I really paid it back."
The lobby fell silent.
Xue Zhiying lowered her head and didn't see it. The man beside her gradually frowned.
A feeling of suffocation surged in his heart. Xiao Yunqi tightened the corners of his lips and swallowed the next words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Silence spread and the atmosphere became stagnant.
She didn't even look at him, but Xiao Yunqi stared at her stubbornly and refused to look away.
Just like every time in the past, when she looked up, he could catch her gaze at the first moment.
But not this time.
Xue Zhiying didn't look up, or perhaps he was not as patient as before.
Xiao Yunqi said: "I will go and confirm whether you have really returned it."
Xue Zhiying didn't answer.
She really didn't understand what was so good about confirming a book.
In terms of value, the white jade bottle was the most expensive, but he said it was a woman's thing and he didn't want it.
The second thing was sixty taels of silver. She didn't want to give it, but he didn't ask for it yesterday and didn't mention it today.
If you count carefully, after spending so much time and effort on him, she only got a few tangible things.
She couldn't repay anything else, and it was even more insignificant to him.
She didn't know how Xiao Yunqi could let her go, so she just remained silent and even let her mind go blank.
Xiao Yunqi waited for a moment and gave Mu Yan a look.
After a while, someone walked in from outside the door.
It was the innkeeper who had just gone out for something, along with the inn's waiter.
Except that there were still no other guests, the lobby seemed to have returned to normal operation.
Xue Zhiying reacted when she saw this.
She subconsciously stood up and went to the counter.
A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
But he barely gave her a chance to startle her, as he simply pulled her back to the chair and sat her down before taking it back.
Xue Zhiying was stunned and finally met Xiao Yunqi's eyes.
Xiao Yunqi looked at her calmly, his expression unchanged as he said, "Eat first."
Seeing Chuntao being taken to another table by Mu Yan and sitting down, Chuntao was already ordering food from the waiter with great interest. Xue Zhiying sighed lightly and had no intention of getting up.
But she asked bluntly in a low voice, "After eating, will the eldest master let me go?"
Xiao Yunqi's pupils shrank slightly.
From yesterday till now, the words he heard most from her were "I'm sorry" and "let her go".
She wanted to go, wanted to leave.
As she herself said, everything she had done before was to leave.
Xiao Yunqi seemed to suddenly understand why he was feeling depressed.
The one in conflict is no longer Xue Zhiying, but himself.
He could easily capture her and take her away now if he wanted to, and she would not be able to resist at all.
But he didn't want her to be a caged bird.
She briefly stopped on his shoulder because she wanted to fly high. He allowed her to stay and lowered his eyes to see her looking up at him.
He was attracted by those bright eyes. At that time, he thought that his figure was reflected in her eyes. Now he realized that she was looking up at the vast sky behind him.
But that's all.
Do you really have to think about a little bird that just stayed for a short time?
Since he didn't want to force anything, there was no need to waste time on this matter.
Xiao Yunqi withdrew his gaze coldly: "I told you, just don't regret it."
Finally, he stopped hearing her apologies.
Xue Zhiying said, "Thank you, Master."
The meal was eaten in silence.
Even Chuntao at the next table noticed the strange atmosphere and just buried her head in her food without saying a word.
Although Xue Zhiying didn't say anything, she didn't starve herself.
She hadn't eaten anything last night, so when she heard Xiao Yunqi reiterate that he would no longer pursue her fault, she felt relieved and had a good meal in preparation for the upcoming journey.
Halfway through the meal, Xiao Yunqi suddenly stood up and left.
There was no goodbye, no other words, only a cold and hard back, and he quickly disappeared in front of the inn.
Mu Yan followed behind him, hurriedly bowed to them, and left quickly.
Chun Tao sat down in front of Xue Zhiying, holding the remaining small bowl of porridge in her hand. "Miss, has the eldest master left?"
“…I think so.”
"What on earth is going on? Why is the eldest young master here? He even took us to have breakfast together. Did the young lady have a quarrel with the eldest young master? The atmosphere was so strange just now. I was so scared that I didn't dare to speak."
Xue Zhiying was amused by this series of questions, but also said with a bit of helplessness: "No, it's not true. The eldest master may not have slept well last night, but he must have set off for Beijing today. We have already left the Xiao Mansion, and we won't mention anything about the Xiao Mansion from now on."
"Oh." Chuntao responded, not quite understanding.
But I was thinking, the girl said yesterday that the eldest master had passed away and didn't mention him anymore, but today I ran into her again as soon as I went out, and now she said the same thing again, could she turn around and...
…
After leaving that inn, Xiao Yunqi returned to another inn where he had originally stayed.
The purpose of his trip was to capture Xue Zhiying, but he had just decided to let her go, and now he was in a daze and didn't know where to go next.
There was clearly a clear direction, and he should set off back to Beijing after the matter was completed.
But when I thought about this, I felt a sense of resistance in my heart.
Over the years, Xiao Yunqi has always been at a high position.
He mostly did things according to his heart, but he never expected that there would be times when he didn't know what he was thinking.
Mu Yan asked: "Master, are you leaving?"
Xiao Yunqi was silent for a long time, then he said, "Well, change to a carriage and set off at 9:00."
*
Next is the journey accompanied by Xue Zhiying and Chuntao.
Unlike before when there were coachmen and maids whose identities were well known to them, there were only two young girls, young and inexperienced, so they always had to be extra cautious when going out.
Xue Zhiying went to the market to inquire about the price of hiring guards.
But after going there, she no longer trusted those tall and strong strange men, and was reluctant to pay the not-so-low price.
Finally, she and Chuntao bought two men's clothes in a cloth shop, disguised themselves as men, and then left Ningzhou in a carriage.
The man driving the carriage for them was a thin middle-aged man. He didn't say much. He just looked at them meaningfully when they got on the carriage, and then he didn't talk to them anymore during the journey.
The road was wide and open all the way out of the city. The two of them were in a good mood as they sat in the carriage, swaying.
Even if she disguised herself as a man, Xue Zhiying did not plan to travel at night.
So today's destination is an inn not far from Ningzhou, and we can arrive there around mid-afternoon.
At noon, they were still traveling on the mountain road and had no place to rest, so they simply ate some dry food in the carriage.
Chuntao was about to take out the kettle to drink water.
Suddenly, a horse neighed outside the carriage, the coachman exclaimed, and the carriage began to shake.
"oops!"
Some of the water spilled from the kettle in Chuntao's hand.
Xue Zhiying was startled. She held the hem of her clothes tightly with one hand and lifted the car curtain with the other. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Before the talkative coachman could come to his senses, Xue Zhiying had already seen the young man limping towards the carriage.
"Brother, can you..."
The man spoke quickly, looking up as he spoke, and when he saw the pretty face sticking out of the carriage, his words stopped immediately.
The groom panted and scolded, "Little brother, you are really trying to save your life by blocking the carriage. If I hadn't stopped the horse in time and hit you, who would I go to for justice?"
It was obvious that the situation was indeed urgent. Everyone in the carriage could feel the coachman hurriedly stopping the horses. The taciturn coachman was now so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick.
The young man blinked absentmindedly, then awoke and quickly added, "I'm so sorry! I'm at my wit's end. I accidentally broke my leg, and there's nowhere to go. I waited for a long time but saw no car passing by, so I rushed out to stop one in desperation. This...brother, could you please give me a lift?"
Xue Zhiying gradually relaxed under his sincere tone.
She carefully looked at the man. He was tall and thin, with a delicate appearance and non-aggressive facial features. He was not extraordinarily handsome, but clean and pleasing to the eye.
He tilted his head slightly, looking at her expectantly. He was wearing a simple satin robe with embroidery, and there was a noticeable black spot on his right knee.
Xue Zhiying had fallen and limped before, and just looking at the dirty black area now seemed to feel the pain that made it difficult to walk again.
She hesitated for a moment, but the young man hurriedly bowed and spoke in an increasingly earnest tone, "My surname is Lin, my given name is Wenyuan, and my courtesy name is Moqing. My ancestral home is Shangshen, and my family makes a living by making silk. I was originally going to Ningzhou to visit a friend, but on the way back I accidentally injured my leg. Walking is really difficult, and I've been stuck here for a long time. I had no choice but to resort to this last resort. I hope you will forgive me for disturbing you, brother. If you can give me a ride, I'm willing to pay double the fare as a token of my gratitude. I'm very grateful!"
He spoke clearly, kept a very humble attitude, and had a sincere look in his eyes. Although his clothes were a little messy, there was indeed a scholar's elegant demeanor in his conversation. He was also frank when talking about his family background, and did not seem like a villain.
at the same time.
No one noticed that a carriage was coming from a distance on the road where no carriage had passed before.
The carriage suddenly stopped for no reason and was a long distance away from Xue Zhiying's carriage.
I don’t know if the carriage broke down or if there was some other intention.
When Xue Zhiying heard the man introduce himself, her guard relaxed a little.
She thought for a moment, and decided that the reason was partly to do good deeds and partly to double the fare. She said to the driver gently, "If that's the case, then get in."
After that, she signaled the groom for help.
Lin Wenyuan thanked him repeatedly, and with the careful help of the coachman, he endured the pain and got into the carriage in a slightly embarrassed manner.
He sat politely near the door, keeping a distance from the two people in the carriage.
After the carriage started moving again, Lin Wenyuan thanked Xue Zhiying again.
He opened his mouth and said, "Thank you for your generous help, young lady."
Xue Zhiying's eyes widened: "You..."
She looked toward the car door again warily.
Lin Wenyuan looked calm and there was no frivolity in his expression.
He laughed and said, "I don't know why the young lady disguised herself as a man, but the way you are dressed is like trying to cover up your own mistakes. It's really hard for me to pretend to be ignorant."
As for the coachman outside the carriage, he was either an insider or he recognized the two men from the beginning.
Xue Zhiying looked at Chuntao in surprise, then looked down at herself.
"Is it that obvious?"
She had clearly asked the boss when she was in the cloth shop, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that the boss was lying with open eyes in order to sell two pieces of clothing. However, she also felt that she could have concealed it to some extent, as there were men who looked like women.
Moreover, before getting on the car, this guy kept calling me "brother".
Lin Wenyuan nodded and groped towards his waist.
He quickly took out a silver ingot and said, "Girl, is this enough?"
Xue Zhiying looked at him warily, but he reached out to take the silver without hesitation.
Lin Wenyuan: "Shouldn't I have exposed the girl and pretended to be ignorant, spending this journey as a man? Wouldn't that be disrespectful to the girl?"
"But if you recognized it from the beginning, why didn't you say it until you got in the car?"
Lin Wenyuan said frankly, "Of course I have to make sure I can get a ride first. Otherwise, if you ask the young lady to leave with this carriage, I don't know how long I will be stuck there."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard an unclear sound of horse hooves, and the carriage just passed a bend.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Xue Zhiying saw at a glance that on the other side of the bend, an unfamiliar carriage was driving some distance behind them, right on the other side of the bend.
Xue Zhiying realized it later and panicked: "There's another carriage over there. It's nonsense to say that you haven't seen any carriages passing by."
"What a shame!" Lin Wenyuan also looked over, his expression filled with surprise and confusion. "I've been waiting here for nearly an hour, and your carriage is the first one I've seen. For a while, there's no one there, and then another carriage appears."
"etc."
Xue Zhiying subconsciously grabbed Chuntao's wrist and pulled her closer to him.
"Since you were going back to Shangzhen from Ningzhou, why would you travel such a long distance alone? Didn't you take a horse or a carriage at first?"
Lin Wenyuan withdrew his gaze from the window and looked at her steadily. After a while, he laughed out loud.
"This is your first time traveling far away."
"What's it to you?"
She moved her lips, looking as if she regretted wanting to kick the person out of the car.
Lin Wenyuan was quite observant and quickly suppressed his smile. He said sincerely, "Please rest assured, young lady. I am not a bad person. The fare is real money, and I am also seriously injured."
He pulled the hem of his clothes slightly, the action was not abrupt, but only revealed a few bloodstains on his trouser legs, and then he quickly covered it up for fear of polluting the girl's eyes.
"I just wanted a ride. Otherwise, it would be difficult to get out of this mountain road on my own. As for those unreasonable words, I was worried about being rejected. In any case, I have absolutely no ill will towards you."
Xue Zhiying took a deep breath quietly.
Chun Tao also whispered in her ear: "There's so much blood."
Lin Wenyuan said, "You are a kind-hearted young lady. I was able to escape this difficult situation with your help. I will not harm you, but I will repay your kindness."
"So, can we get along peacefully for the rest of the journey?"
In fact, it was difficult for Xue Zhiying to associate Lin Wenyuan with the evil criminals.
She glanced out the window. Now that they were no longer at the bend, she could no longer see the carriage. The surroundings were deserted. If she were really trapped here, she would feel so helpless and panicked.
Xue Zhiying nodded slightly and stuffed the silver in his hand into his sleeve.
Lin Wenyuan saw it and smiled.
He didn't know whether he was laughing at her little action or at the fact that she was no longer on guard against him.
Xue Zhiying's carriage was not crowded, but since everyone was sitting in the same space, they couldn't help but chat.
Lin Wenyuan asked at the right moment: "May I ask your name, young lady?"
"My name is Xue Zhiying."
When Xue Zhiying mentioned his strange behavior again, she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you wandering here alone?"
Speaking of this, Lin Wenyuan lowered his voice, and it was unclear whether what he said was true or not, which made him seem very mysterious: "Actually, I escaped from the carriage at home."
"What?"
"It's a long story, so I'll cut to the chase. My family situation was complicated, and I'd always wanted to leave. This was the only chance I'd managed to find. I took advantage of the carriage passing through a desolate area and quietly climbed out the window. I injured my leg, but thankfully, other noises masked my movements. By the time the carriage reached this mountain road and stopped, they realized it was empty, but it was too late."
After saying this, Lin Wenyuan regained his original voice and said with a gentle smile, "Sorry, I said I wanted to make it short, but I still said so much."
Xue Zhiying listened carefully and was slightly stunned.
Seeing this, Lin Wenyuan thought she was suspicious, but he didn't care: "This sounds absurd, it doesn't matter if you don't believe it."
"No." Xue Zhiying shook her head, "I believe it."
Lin Wenyuan raised his eyebrows slightly.
The two were silent for a moment, and then Lin Wenyuan asked, "Young lady, don't you want to ask me why I ran away from home?"
"You have your reasons. As you said, it may be a very long story. The most important thing is that you have achieved the result you wanted. It is perfect."
Her voice was soft, gentle and low.
He uttered these words slowly, his eyes looking out of the car following the curtains fluttering in the wind.
Lin Wenyuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, perfection is enough. I am able to achieve this perfection thanks to Miss Xue's help."
Xue Zhiying retracted her thoughts: "I didn't help at all. Master Lin paid the silver, and we just shared the ride."
"Yes, Lin Mouxing is traveling with the girl."
The carriage arrived at the originally scheduled post station near the hour of You.
When Xue Zhiying was about to get off the carriage, he stopped and did not move for a while.
"Miss Xue?"
She glanced at Lin Wenyuan awkwardly and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Lin, are our outfits really that obvious?"
Lin Wenyuan paused and chuckled, "Not bad."
That’s not good.
Xue Zhiying pursed her lips and for a moment felt that she would be laughed at if she went out in this outfit, as it was clearly revealed that the two girls were pretending to be men.
But of course she couldn't stay in the carriage forever.
After a period of ideological struggle, Xue Zhiying still walked out with gritted teeth.
Chuntao had been waiting by the carriage for a long time.
After Xue Zhiying was helped out of the carriage by her, she turned back and looked inside: "Master Lin, can you do it yourself?"
Lin Wenyuan chuckled inside, teasing with a hint of amusement: "Miss Xue, it's obvious that I can't do it myself."
“…”
She did seem to ask a nonsense question.
Xue Zhiying whispered to the coachman, who responded by helping Lin Wenyuan down from the carriage.
This is the only way from Ningzhou to the west, and the post station here is very busy with people coming and going.
The groom still has to go to the stable to tie up the horse.
Xue Zhiying looked at the man standing beside her and asked, "Can you walk on your own?"
Lin Wenyuan stopped teasing and said seriously, "Sure, I can walk slowly on my own."
Xue Zhiying knew the feeling of that kind of pain. Looking at the bloodstains on Lin Wenyuan's body, his injuries were no less serious than hers.
Out of courtesy, she didn't reach out to help him directly, but she still slowed down her pace and walked with him. If necessary, she could reach out to support him.
Xue Zhiying asked, "Since Master Lin isn't going from Ningzhou to Shangzhen, where are you planning to go next?"
Lin Wenyuan did not hide it: "Yue Xiang."
Xue Zhiying's eyes changed slightly, and Lin Wenyuan caught it at a glance.
"Is it such a coincidence that Miss Xue's destination is also Yuexiang?"
Xue Zhiying looked up at him.
Lin Wenyuan quickly explained, "I was indeed heading to Yuexiang. Miss Xue never told me your destination. If it's the same destination, then it's just a coincidence."
Xue Zhiying said, "That's indeed a coincidence."
After a few words, she and Lin Wenyuan walked into the only inn here.
The waiter greeted us warmly.
Xue Zhiying asked for two rooms for herself and Chuntao. Lin Wenyuan also asked for a room and ordered some necessary medicines.
We met by chance, and now it's time to say goodbye.
But this separation was a little strange. They lived in the same inn and had to set off in the same direction tomorrow. Maybe they would meet again at the next inn.
They looked up at the same time and their eyes met.
Xue Zhiying was stunned.
Lin Wenyuan said first, "Since we are destined to meet, there is no need to rush into a formal farewell. Thank you Miss Xue for today. I will take my leave first and take care of things."
His tone was relaxed, easing the awkward yet strange atmosphere, and he pointed to his legs.
Xue Zhiying pursed her lips and nodded, then thought of something and said, "If you need any help, you can tell me."
Lin Wenyuan bowed: "Thank you very much."
Xue Zhiying stopped and watched Lin Wenyuan slowly go up to the second floor before she took another step. Otherwise, they would have to go upstairs together after they just said goodbye.
After Xue Zhiying explained a few things to Chuntao, they both went back to their rooms.
After a day of traveling, even though I had been riding in a carriage, I was still a little tired.
Xue Zhiying put down her luggage and thought in a relaxed manner whether to take a shower or have a meal first.
She didn't rush herself to figure out the result, but slowly packed the things she would need tonight.
After a while, there was a sound at the door, it was the sound of footsteps passing by.
But the footsteps seemed to stop in front of her door.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Xue Zhiying heard the sound and looked over, then walked over.
When she reached the door, she suddenly paused.
A strange feeling came over her heart, making her vaguely guess something.
It’s not Chuntao. Chuntao always knocks on the door while talking.
Is that the person Lin Wenyuan came to seek help?
She stared at the door for a moment and asked tentatively, "Who is it?"
Dongdong——
Two knocks on the door gave her a cold response.
Xue Zhiying slowly opened the door and her eyebrows suddenly jumped.
The man stood in front of her door with a cold expression, his posture straight and his eyes deep.
Without letting her move aside, he simply held her body and stepped into the house.
Xiao Yunqi glanced around and asked calmly, "Who is that lame guy?"
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