Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Escape Again
Zhou Xiao looked around and saw that the area was empty. He then moved closer and said in a low voice, "Yes, the master has instructed his subordinates to find a way to get the lady away."
Zhe Rou was startled, then shook her head, "There are people guarding outside the medicine shop... I can't get away."
Zhou Xiao had been secretly following her and Lu Chen since they returned to the capital, and he had already made plans. Hearing this, he continued, "It's okay. My wife is in the capital now, so everything will be easy. We just need to find an opportunity to take refuge in Duke Xu's mansion. Even if General Lu is bold, he can't force his way into the mansion to demand her."
Zhe Rou's heart skipped a beat, and her fingertips tightened slightly unconsciously.
She had originally thought that she would take her time to plan and eventually find an opportunity to leave, but she didn't expect the timing to come so coincidentally. Although she felt vaguely uneasy and rushed, she was unwilling to give up easily.
After thinking for a moment, she made up her mind, nodded, and said softly, "I heard that there's a medicine market opening outside Xiangguo Temple in a few days. I'll go take a look."
Zhou Xiao understood and immediately chimed in, "Alright, I'll arrange for a carriage to meet you at the back alley of Xiangguo Temple. If you can't shake off the guards, you can rest assured that I'll handle it. You'll be at the Duke's Mansion in less than half an hour."
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and said "hmm" softly.
Now that the message had been delivered, and Lu Chen's men were still guarding outside the pharmacy, Zhou Xiao couldn't stay any longer. He said goodbye to her and turned back.
Seeing Zhou Xiao take a few steps and about to return to the front hall, Zhe Rou hesitated for a moment, and finally called out to him, "Where's Mingqi... Is he doing well recently?"
In fact, she knew very well in her heart that Xie Yunzhou's identity was different after all. Once he entered the royal family, it would be like entering a deep sea. It would be difficult to break off the ties with him in the future, and there should be no more intersection between them.
The days she had truly hoped for turned into a mirage in the blink of an eye, and the road ahead became dark and gloomy again. Both she and Mingqi were helpless.
Just thinking about it makes people feel sad.
She hoped that he would be well. Spring had arrived, and he was still as unrestrained and carefree as ever, lazily holding a piece of grass stalk in his mouth.
When she asked this, Zhou Xiao's expression froze for a moment, and then he replied, "Master, everything is fine."
Zhe Rou vaguely sensed something was amiss and couldn't help but frown and ask, "Really? Then why did he send you here? Where is he?"
Unexpectedly, she was very sharp-minded. Zhou Xiao's eyes suddenly dodged for a moment, "The young master is now in the forbidden area and cannot leave for the time being."
Although that fleeting thought was fleeting, Zhe Rou paid close attention and saw clearly his guilty conscience.
She nodded and didn't ask any more questions. She walked with Zhou Xiao to the front hall of the pharmacy. When he was about to lift the door curtain, she asked casually, "Is he seriously injured?"
Zhou Xiao subconsciously retorted, "No——"
Before he could finish his words, as soon as the word "heavy" came out, he realized something was wrong and abruptly stopped talking.
Zhe Rou stopped and looked at Zhou Xiao calmly.
He had been wounded when he escaped from Duke Xu's mansion that night. Now that he was forced to return to the emperor's family, she expected that, given his unruly temper, he would most likely be punished by the family rules.
As expected.
Zhou Xiao felt so regretful that he wanted to slap himself in the face.
He could only bite the bullet and reluctantly try to make amends, "Young Master, you did receive some punishment... But for those of us who practice martial arts, a beating is nothing. It's really not that severe, honestly!"
Zhe Rou's heart tightened, and she whispered, "Let him recover well and take medicine on time, so as not to get sick."
Zhou Xiao quickly agreed.
Seeing Zhou Xiao coming in furiously and leaving in disgrace, Xiao Chan assumed he knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare to make a scene again. She couldn't help but pat her chest and let out a long sigh, praising Zhe Rou non-stop, "It's a good thing you're here, my lady. I was so scared."
Zhe Rou curved her lips and smiled, intentionally changing the subject and asking her about the trivial matters in the pharmacy these days.
When Xiaochan mentioned this, she immediately became interested and chattered endlessly with her. Zherou mostly listened and occasionally responded with a few words. The two of them chatted casually for most of the day until Lu Chen got off work in the evening and came to the pharmacy to pick someone up.
The Lantern Festival was about to pass, but the capital was still chilly. Heavy snow fell in the evening. Lu Chen rode his horse through the snow. His handsome black eyebrows and eyelashes were covered with tiny ice crystals, and a thin layer of snow also fell outside his cloak. As soon as he entered the door, he was filled with the coldness of frost and snow.
Xiaochan quickly stood up and saluted, "My dear."
Lu Chen looked past her and looked at the slender figure not far away, calling out, "妱妱."
Zhe Rou was still sitting in front of the small table, motionless and without any reaction.
The lamp beside her was covered with a layer of plain gauze, filtering a warm and hazy candlelight, which flowed over her jade-like profile, transforming into a warm and soft luster.
Lu Chen walked closer, lowered his eyes and looked at her for a while, then suddenly stretched out his hand and placed his cold palm on her neck.
Caught off guard, Zhe Rou let out a low cry of surprise and shuddered violently. Her slender neck subconsciously shrank into her collar, but she didn't expect that it would trap his palm deeper.
His cold, hard long fingers naturally sank into the warm and soft skin, and the thin calluses on his fingertips just touched her rapidly beating pulse, rubbing it twice neither lightly nor heavily.
It seems intimate, but also like a test.
The action was stealthy, yet the cold touch was distinct. Zhe Rou suddenly felt embarrassed and annoyed, looking up and glaring at him: "Lu Bingyan!"
Perhaps it was because this was completely unexpected. Although there was a hint of anger in her tone, her eyes and eyebrows became much more lively and vivid. Not only was there annoyance, but also anger. One could vaguely make out the look of someone in deep love.
It was as if it had been annoyed by his teasing in the past and couldn't help but show its claws at him.
Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, then he laughed softly, loosened his hand, lifted her chin with his long fingers, lowered his head and kissed her, "Let's go home."
The evening meal had been prepared in the villa, and it was still according to her taste, with steamed dumplings with bamboo shoots and meat, oven-roasted lamb, stir-fried winter mallow, and also served with mushrooms, pickled cucumbers and crispy honey cakes. However, no matter how delicious the meal was, it made her lose her appetite.
Zhe Rou reluctantly picked up two chopsticks of vegetarian dishes, pursed her lips, and casually mentioned, "There's a medicine market outside Xiangguo Temple the day after tomorrow. I want to go take a look."
The ivory chopsticks tapped lightly against the porcelain bowl, making a subtle, crisp sound. Lu Chen tilted his head and glanced at her, his dark eyes dark and deep, unable to discern any emotion.
Zhe Rou lowered her eyelashes, her chest tightening a little, thinking that he might not agree. She was thinking about what to say next, but she heard him say "hmm" softly, "Let Nan Heng go with you."
As he spoke, he picked up another piece of mutton and put it in her small bowl. "Come back early. I'll take you to Zhouqiao Night Market tonight. I heard there's a new stall that sells fried mutton. It's delicious."
After a moment's silence, Zhe Rou nodded gently. At noon the next day, followed by Nan Heng, she boarded the outgoing carriage and headed towards Xiangguo Temple.
This villa is not far from Xiangguo Temple. On ordinary days, it would only take a cup of tea to get there by carriage. However, today, the Wanxing Market was opened outside Xiangguo Temple, and there were many tourists. The streets were crowded. The carriage bypassed Baokangmen Street and took two incense sticks to reach the long street outside the temple.
Pingchuan tightened the reins and found an open space to park the carriage. Zhe Rou walked down holding the wall of the carriage. Nan Heng followed behind her, never leaving her side. In the dark where she couldn't see, she didn't know how many other people Lu Chen had arranged.
There was a bustling crowd everywhere, with all kinds of vendors coming and going, making a lot of noise. After walking half a block, he didn't know what happened in front of him, but suddenly a group of people rushed towards him. Nan Heng didn't care about etiquette for a moment, and stepped forward to hold Zhe Rou's wrist through his sleeve to block the crowd in front of her.
When the crowd dispersed a little, Zhe Rou suddenly let out a low hiss.
"Madam?" Nan Heng was startled and subconsciously turned his head to follow her line of sight. He saw that there was a stain on the corner of her skirt, as if it had been rubbed with malt sugar in the crowd, and it was vaguely sticky.
Zhe Rou frowned, looked up and around, finally looking at the clothing store across the street, and said softly to Nan Heng: "It's okay, come with me to that store first, I need to change clothes."
She had been to this clothing store before. There was a small carved window in the inner room at the corner of the first floor. From there, she could enter the backyard, go out of the corner door, and walk a short distance ahead to the back alley of Xiangguo Temple. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Xiao should have arranged a carriage waiting for her.
Nan Heng replied yes and followed her into the clothing store. After she had chosen the clothes, he followed her all the way to the inner door. Seeing that it was really inconvenient for her to go in, he stopped and stood guard outside the door.
Hearing the door creak shut, Zhe Rou's heart jumped uncontrollably.
She pinched her palms hard, forcing herself to calm down, turned her head quickly and without any further delay, put down the clothes in her hands and walked straight to the mullioned window.
She knew that this method was too hasty and could only keep Nan Heng secret for a cup of tea at most. Even if Zhou Xiao helped secretly, he could stop Nan Heng but he could not stop others from going back to deliver the letter to Lu Chen. She could not afford to delay at all.
Carefully lifting the hem of her skirt, she tumbled down from the window of the clothing store. Her heart was pounding, and she didn't dare look back at all, not caring about the pain in her knees caused by the window ridge. She hurriedly passed through the corner door and ran out along the alley.
Not long after, after passing a crooked tree on the street, they saw an ordinary horse-drawn carriage with a green curtain parked at the corner of the alley. A man in shorts and a bamboo hat was leaning on the shaft, seemingly waiting for someone.
Zhe Rou walked quickly towards the carriage.
The driver looked up at the sound and saw her coming. His eyes lit up immediately. He immediately jumped off the shaft, adjusted his bamboo hat, and stepped forward to ask in a low voice: "I am here to wait on the orders of General Zhou Lang. May I ask if you are the Ninth Lady of the Ning Family?"
"Yes, it's me." Zhe Rou nodded at him, and without hesitation, she lifted her skirt and got on the carriage, "Let's go!"
Seeing her get on the carriage and sit firmly, the driver closed the door tightly, whipped the horse whip, and the carriage rumbled forward.
The wheels rumbled over the stone slabs, and there was a slight vibration under his feet. Zhe Rou pressed his back tightly against the wall of the car, his heart still beating rapidly. His fingertips unconsciously dug into the soft cushion under him. He listened to the noise of the street market behind him gradually fading away, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
The gauze curtains on the windows swayed gently with the swaying of the car body, filtering in some bright sunlight and casting mottled shadows in the car. It seemed unreal and illusory, making her feel a little dazed for a moment. She didn't know how long it would take for Lu Chen to notice, and how crazy he would be if he did...
Zhe Rou closed her eyes and stopped herself from thinking about it.
She was already in so much pain that she could barely breathe, so how could she care about so many things...
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