Go to Beijing
She thought about it and spoke again, her tone softening: "Are you really, really determined to go with me?"
"Of course." Chen Yunqiu smiled faintly, glancing at the girl's wandering eyes. "Just don't think of abandoning me, or knocking me out and leaving alone. Otherwise, even if I have to move slowly in a wheelchair, I will definitely follow you to the capital."
As he spoke, Shen Yunqiu moved closer on the wooden wheel, leaning forward a little bit, watching the girl's originally normal face gradually turn red, then he leaned back in his chair, raised the corners of his mouth, and had a look of success.
"Don't even think about getting rid of me."
"I...I don't want to get rid of you!"
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Suxi felt embarrassed and annoyed, just like the story of a heroic woman clinging to a man in a storybook.
Su Xi was embarrassed by the burning sensation that quickly spread across her cheeks, thinking she was being too sentimental. She turned her head away, fearing that he would notice anything unusual, but her voice couldn't help but stutter.
"Well... well, I'll take you there. Eat quickly so I can wash the dishes."
Seeing Su Xi like this, Shen Yunqiu only ate half of his food, but he knew that she couldn't stay there for a moment longer.
"I'm done eating."
Shen Yunqiu put down his bowl and chopsticks and saw the girl quickly clear the table. She left without even glancing at him and fled.
After a while, he looked through the door at the girl's back, who was leaning against the kitchen window and breathing heavily. He couldn't help laughing and moved to the study in a good mood to continue eating the mung bean pastry on the small plate.
-
It was about 4 p.m. that night. The sky was completely dark and the streets were empty. It was unusually cold, and even snowflakes were beginning to fall from the sky, which was tinged with purple.
After reviewing a day's worth of official documents, Shen Pingchang returned to the Shen residence by carriage from the Qingzhou government office. As soon as he lifted the curtain, a heavy chill made him shiver. He hurriedly pulled up his cloak and slammed the door shut. The warm warmth of the burning silver charcoal inside finally made him feel more comfortable. Sitting down and pouring a cup of hot tea, Shen Pingchang was about to call for help when he saw Lin, who had just emerged from the inner room after bathing, approaching around the screen.
Under the bright candlelight, a ivory-white silk lining outlined the woman's enchanting and graceful curves. Supported by a large sum of money, the woman, though already middle-aged, still retained her charm, and her face showed almost no trace of time. However, although her appearance was beautiful, her overly familiar appearance was truly off-putting. Shen Pingchang averted his gaze, stood up, and turned his back to Lin. As expected, the woman came over and undressed him, carefully placing him on the wooden frame.
"Madam, is there any letter from Zhao'er?"
“No.”
"Do you have someone clean Zhao'er's room every day?"
"certainly."
After he finished speaking, Shen Pingchang turned his head and saw that Lin had already opened the bed curtain and lay down in it, with her back to the outside, and seemed to have no intention of talking to him anymore.
Accustomed to Lin's flattery, such abnormal coldness reminded Shen Pingchang that Lin seemed to be like this every time she returned from the government office in the evening these days. He just thought that Lin was not used to Zhao'er's departure for a while, and did not blame her too much. After all, this woman had to be forced to stay by his side all her life, flattering and subservient, and the shame of being trampled underfoot and the unbearable pain of watching Yunniang die, she would have a lifetime to pay back, and pay it back in full.
Shen Pingchang snorted coldly at Lin's dozing back, sat back at the table, and suddenly remembered what happened in the winter month at the beginning of this year.
Because of Yunniang, he was very indulgent to Wen Zhao since he was young, which made him ignorant of the immensity of the world, indulge in pleasure all day long, and not work hard or make progress.
Therefore, for many years, he has been very worried about Wen Zhao's future, but he can do nothing about it. Until this winter, he returned to Beijing to report on his work as usual. At the court meeting, the new emperor who had just ascended the throne for two years denounced the officials for their incompetence and said that they could not even come up with the money to build the imperial mausoleum. The six ministries each reported their accounts, but there was still a huge deficit. The emperor was furious and suspended the court, but he suddenly thought of a good idea.
After the court meeting that day, he found the eunuch in charge and was led into the Qinzheng Hall. He explained that the Su family was very wealthy and that his close friend Su Bingwen was in charge of the Su family's business. With the Su family's wealth, they could raise enough money to build the imperial mausoleum.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the emperor above him looking at him with interest, and his tone was full of hope: "Is what you said true?"
"Of course it is true. The Su family's business is spread across many cities and pays a lot of taxes every year. Bingwen is dedicated to serving the country and is naturally willing to help Your Majesty."
"What if he doesn't want to?"
"If he doesn't want to, I have ways to force him to agree."
For a moment, the two people at the top and below the stairs looked at each other, and they all understood each other without saying a word.
That day, with this promise, he exchanged it for Wen Zhao's promotion to a Beijing official and a smooth career. As for the Su family, a mere merchant, it must be a great honor to be able to be a stepping stone for Wen Zhao to rise to the top.
After finishing his cup of tea, Shen Pingchang finally came to his senses. He put down the teacup and looked at the foam sinking to the bottom. Suddenly, he thought of the man who had been his close friend for many years. He believed that he was a master of disguise. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fooled the Lin family's daughter into marrying him, and he wouldn't have made the merchant treat him as an upright and honest man and call him a brother. However, after pretending for most of his life, he was extremely tired. Now that he was free from worries and felt at ease, he could finally be a sinister villain again.
"Master, Master!"
Just as he was thinking, a gatekeeper suddenly rushed in, looked around, squatted down and whispered something in Shen Pingchang's ear under his displeased gaze. In an instant, Shen Pingchang's expression changed suddenly, and he hurriedly put on his outer robe and ordered the servant: "Go to Qingzhou Prison!"
-
The next day, at the fifth watch, the cock crowed, and Suxi woke up drowsily from his small couch in the West Garden. He drew back the curtains and found that the sky was exceptionally bright and cold. The charcoal brazier in the room had gone out at some point in the night, and the deep cold made him shiver. He couldn't help but shudder.
After getting dressed and getting down from the couch, Suxi rubbed his frozen hands and walked around the screen, but there was no sign of Shen Yunqiu, not even his wheelchair. Instead, there was a very clear rustling sound outside the door, like snowflakes hitting the paper window.
Startled, Suxi hastily opened the door and saw a vast expanse of white outside. Snowflakes swirled and fell, a thin layer of snow already covering the ground. In the dust-free courtyard, a young man sat alone, without an umbrella or a robe. His black hair was covered in snowflakes, as if he had grown many more white hairs.
"Chen Yunqiu, when did you get up? What are you doing sitting in the snow? Aren't you cold?"
"About an hour earlier than you." Chen Yunqiu replied, "To watch the snow."
"Seeing snow? Qingzhou has snow for several months every year. What's there to see?"
Hearing the voice, Shen Yunqiu turned around and saw that the girl had walked to his side. She was holding the armrest of the wheelchair and also looking up at the white sky.
"I don't know, but I feel like the snow this year is different."
Shen Yunqiu thought, maybe he could finally escape from the place that had trapped him all his life, or maybe he knew that this might be the last year in his life where he would have the chance to see snow, so he cherished it especially.
"no the same?"
Suxi also felt something was different. She remembered that the first snow of the year in her previous life hadn't fallen this early, so why was it snowing this year, just at the beginning of November?
For some reason, I suddenly felt a bad feeling in my heart. It’s been snowing in Qingzhou for more than a month. If I don’t leave today, I’m afraid I will never be able to leave again in the future.
As he was thinking about it, he was about to push the wheelchair into the house, but he saw a young man next to him looking up at the top of his head. Su Xi touched it and a layer of snow fell off immediately.
"Xiaoxi, have you ever heard a saying?"
"What?"
"If we can get wet in the snow together one day, we can grow old together in this life."
Suddenly, Shen Yunqiu saw the girl's face flush, as red as persimmons hanging from a tree in the winter months. Then, before he could say anything else, a hand suddenly reached out and brushed off a layer of snow that had fallen all over his head. The flakes melted wetly, and only then did Shen Yunqiu realize the chill.
"Let's go, come inside!"
The girl's voice was puffed up with shame and annoyance. Chen Yunqiu stopped teasing her and just accepted it in his heart, calling it a white-haired relationship.
Not long after, they packed up all the things they were going to take to the capital. Just then, the coachman knocked on the door. Su Xi pushed Shen Yunqiu out of the yard, locked the door, and got on the carriage together.
-
During the day, the sky brightened, and the snow fell even harder. The hard snow on the ground made the wheels squeak. The driver, wearing a bamboo hat and a hood, drove the horses, but the horses seemed reluctant to move. After a while, they would drop the load and, like a donkey, would not move forward until a carrot was hung in front of their faces. Because of the snow, the rental fee of ten taels of silver had increased to fifteen taels. Even so, the carriage continued to move very slowly. It took half a day to barely leave Qingzhou and reach a bamboo forest on the border between Qingzhou and Qizhou.
As we continued to head south, the snow became lighter, but the wind was still strong, making it even more difficult for the carriage to move forward.
Inside the carriage, Suxi took the orange slices handed to him by Shen Yunqiu and put them into his mouth. He lifted the curtain with some worry and looked out. He saw that there was no one in the bamboo forest and no other carriages or horses. Only snowflakes mixed with raindrops kept falling from the gray sky. From time to time, a wild rabbit ran by, accompanied by the howling of wolves from afar.
For some reason, the inexplicable uneasiness in his heart became stronger and stronger. Su Xi covered his chest and suppressed the heartbeat that was about to jump out of his chest. He tightly grasped the curtain of the carriage, but the ground suddenly shook slightly. It seemed that there was a thud of horse hooves coming from behind him, getting closer and closer, until the heavy sound of horse hooves surrounded the carriage. The driver suddenly pulled the reins, and the carriage suddenly shook. Su Xi hurriedly pulled Shen Yunqiu's wheelchair that was about to fall forward, and only then realized that something was wrong.
The sound of horse hooves did not seem to come from the caravan heading south, but rather seemed to be coming towards them.
"Bandits?"
Shen Yunqiu also became alert for a moment and reached out to hold Su Zhuxi's trembling wrist. But before he could lift the curtain to check, he heard the driver's voice from outside: "Sir, I have done nothing wrong. Look, I have a pass..."
"Is there a woman with a scar on her face sitting in your car?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Okay, you have nothing to do here, get out."
"Okay, I'll get out of here..."
The driver drove away without caring about the carriage. Su Xi held Shen Yunqiu's hand tightly, not knowing whether these soldiers were from Qingzhou or Qizhou, and why they were looking for her. She was extremely panicked. In an instant, the door curtain was suddenly lifted, and she saw Shen Pingchang's smiling face, half hidden in the shadow of the curtain, with a half-smile on his face, like an evil ghost who was asking for someone's life.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
