Chapter 89 Farewell and wish you a safe journey.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Song Baoyuan stood at the door of Old Zhang's house and watched Zhang Lao go in.
"Who on earth is trying to make the Dali Temple sound like an impenetrable fortress, like not even a fly can get in? Isn't that quite easy?" Du Yuan patted his chest. "It seems this young master still has some respect!"
Xie Yu rolled his eyes at him. "Why are you here too?"
"Let me see who could possibly bother our Master Xie." Du Yuan discreetly glanced at the unfamiliar woman before him and asked with a grin, "I wonder which lord's daughter this young lady is?"
"hiss!"
As soon as he finished asking, Xie Yuchao elbowed him hard in the ribs. He cried out in pain, his face full of complaints, "What are you doing?"
Song Baoyuan turned around and smiled, "I'm just the owner of the teahouse in front, not a rich girl."
She bowed and said, "Thank you, Master Du, for your help. You can go to the teahouse for tea when you have time."
Du Yuan rubbed his ribs and muttered, "I still prefer drinking."
"hiss!"
Another collision.
"I like drinking tea." Xie Yuchao turned his head and said.
Song Baoyuan couldn't help laughing. When the soldiers broke into her house before and Xie Yuchao came to rescue her, she mentioned Mr. Du as a shield. She didn't expect that there really was such a person. They were really close friends.
Du Yuan glanced around, feeling it was something unusual and filled with curiosity.
He pressed on, "What's your name, girl?"
"What does this have to do with you?" Xie Yuchao stood in front of him, twisting his body to force him to turn around. "Please come this way. It's so late, go home quickly."
"May I ask what's wrong?"
"Go!"
The two pushed each other, and Du Yuan had no choice but to say, "I'll just say one last thing! Serious business!"
Xie Yuchao temporarily stopped, not hiding his doubts at all, "What business can you have?"
"Chinese New Year is coming soon. When are you planning to go back?"
"I managed to escape with great difficulty!"
"I know, but..." Du Yuan became serious, "Even though your father is a little strict with you, he is still your father after all. Do you want him to spend the New Year alone?"
Xie Yuchao was slightly stunned.
"A few days ago, my father found some old ginseng at home and had it delivered to your house. He seemed to be saying that your father hasn't been feeling well lately."
Du Yuan sighed, "I'm not speaking for your father, but this is the situation. Now that we've met, I can't help but tell you, right?"
Xie Yuchao lowered his eyes and stared at the ground below.
"Okay, I'm leaving." Du Yuan patted his shoulder, bowed to Song Baoyuan behind him, then turned and left alone.
Song Baoyuan heard their conversation, tiptoed over, and waved her palm in front of the dazed man.
Xie Yuchao came back to his senses and forced a smile, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
"Um."
Walking side by side in the alley, the two walked slowly.
"Are you worried about your father?" Song Baoyuan asked.
Xie Yuchao subconsciously retorted, "That's not the case."
He swore confidently, "That old man is busy from morning till night, yet he still finds time to supervise my homework and check every detail of what I did all day without feeling tired at all. I've never seen him in poor health."
"So you don't believe what Master Du said?"
"I..." Xie Yuchao paused, "It's not that I don't believe it, but it's definitely not serious. Besides, he can hire an imperial physician, and the mansion has so many precious medicinal herbs, so there's no need for me to worry about it."
Song Baoyuan nodded and glanced at him secretly, only to see that his brows were furrowed.
"What about the New Year? Since you are your father's only child, if you don't go back, he will be alone when others are reunited."
"Not really." Xie Yuchao shook his head uncomfortably, "There are hundreds of people in the mansion."
"But to your father, those people mean something different than they do to you."
Xie Yuchao stopped, feeling a little upset. "What do you mean? Are you trying to send me back?"
"No." Song Baoyuan also paused and looked at him calmly, "I just think that there is nothing wrong with not admitting that I am worried about my father."
"But he's not a good father. He's too controlling and very strict with everyone!" Xie Yuchao turned sideways angrily.
"But we can't deny that, other than that, he gave you the best of everything," Song Baoyuan said softly, "and you're a great person. You're talented, confident, brave, independent-minded, and responsible. If he were truly a worthless father, how could he have raised someone as good as you?"
Xie Yuchao was stunned.
"You said that because your mother didn't survive giving birth to you, your father might hate you and therefore over-control you. But it's also possible that he already lost your mother and doesn't want to lose you. Because he cares too much, it's even worse than not."
Song Baoyuan reached out and gathered his cloak. "I'm not trying to persuade you to ignore his bad behavior towards you. I just don't want you to deny your feelings. Because that wouldn't make you happy, right?"
Xie Yuchao suddenly felt very aggrieved, and he was indeed very unhappy.
He was silent, held Song Baoyuan's hand, and slowly, as if looking for support, gently embraced her in his arms.
In Song Baoyuan's ears, Xie Yuchao's voice was slightly childish.
"He's not a good person at all. He always interferes too much with my decisions, doesn't respect my ideas, likes to criticize me for being childish, and never praises me. But... the first time I saw the vastness of the world was when I was riding on his neck. He wrote the first complete word I ever wrote, holding my hand, stroke by stroke. I once had a serious, contagious illness, and no one dared to approach me. He was the only one who stayed by my side."
"I really hate him. He deprives me of my freedom and makes me feel suffocated. But, but he is my only relative in this world. I don't know how to face him. I don't know..."
Song Baoyuan raised her hand and patted him on the back soothingly.
*
In the Dali Temple, two children were lying on the couch, fast asleep.
A few steps away, Jiang Keyu was still sitting at the desk, lighting a kerosene lamp and writing a memorial.
Suddenly he heard someone whistling and looked towards the window.
Tang Yuan saw him looking at him and waved.
Jiang Keyu was surprised and glanced sideways at the children. Seeing that they were sleeping soundly, she tiptoed out the door.
"Why haven't you gone back yet?"
"My wife has gone back to her parents' home, and it would be boring for me to go back alone." Tang Yuan spread his hands, "I came here just to tell you that Zhang Lao has returned."
Jiang Keyu nodded, "Okay, I understand."
"There's more, Boss." Tang Yuan pointed his thumb behind him, "Those brothers who have been staring at him said that they saw his ex-sister-in-law with a young man near Old Zhang's house, and..."
He made a hug gesture.
Jiang Keyu had no expression on her face. "Did I ask you?"
"hey-hey."
"Did I say I wanted to know?" Jiang Keyu suppressed her anger. "What are you laughing at?"
"Hehe." Tang Yuan couldn't help but said, "I'm leaving first, Boss."
He slipped away as if escaping.
Jiang Keyu was so angry that her teeth itched, "Don't talk nonsense outside!"
Tang Yuan, who had already disappeared, peeked around the corner again, "Don't worry, boss, we're keeping our mouths shut."
"roll!"
*
For Song Baoyuan, there was another important event before the New Year, which was to send Princess Liu'an away from Beijing.
Before she knew it, the day had arrived. The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and her worries were piling up.
In the carriage, Xie Yuchao, who was accompanying her, asked in confusion, "Why do you have to leave at this time?"
The end of the year and heavy snow are neither a good time to travel far away nor good weather for going out.
Song Baoyuan had originally complained in her heart that His Majesty's decree was unreasonable, but now she knew that it was Princess Liu'an who took the initiative to request it.
She was afraid that being unable to reunite with her family amidst the hustle and bustle of life would make her feel too desolate, unable to suppress her longing and loneliness. So, she decided to spend this time on an unfamiliar journey.
Thinking of reunion, Song Baoyuan is now worried.
If they don't celebrate the New Year with that person, Chengcheng and Suisui won't be able to reunite with their parents and won't be happy during the New Year.
But if they were together, it would be really awkward for her to get along with that person. Now she felt uncomfortable just imagining that scene.
"What are you thinking about?" Xie Yuchao asked when he saw her melancholy expression.
Song Baoyuan opened a corner of the curtain to get some fresh air. "I was thinking, after we say goodbye today, I don't know when we will meet again."
Xie Yuchao pressed the heater into her hands and said comfortingly, "There's always a time for separation. Since there will be a day when we meet again, we should be thankful."
That’s right, at least we can still meet again and there’s still hope, Song Baoyuan thought.
Surprisingly, Liu An abandoned the extravagant and complicated lifestyle of his time in the capital, choosing instead to keep things simple. Even his attire was simple, his hair braided into a single braid, and he wore no accessories, looking clean and tidy.
On the snowy outskirts of Beijing, seeing Song Baoyuan walking towards him in a daze, Liu An asked with a smile, "Why, don't you recognize me?"
"Are you going to start a new life?"
"Can you talk?" Liu An rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction. "I just hate trouble, so I won't bring anything that I can do without. Please don't prepare anything for me."
"I'm not prepared."
Lu An: "..."
Well, she was just being overly sentimental.
Seeing her pout, Song Baoyuan couldn't help but laugh, "I only prepared a little."
That’s more like it, Liu An thought to himself, but with a look of disdain on his face, “What a hassle.”
"Just a little bit." Song Baoyuan handed over the small wooden box in her arms and begged, "Please, Princess, please accept it."
Liu An raised the corner of his mouth, "Okay."
She took the wooden box, opened it, and was dazzled by it.
It's a box full of small gold ingots.
"Silver notes are convenient to carry, but they may not be usable outside. Gold is safer. Don't have too many to avoid attracting attention. Please hide them well."
The smile on Liu An's lips gradually turned bitter, "This is not much."
Song Baoyuan touched her sleeve again and said, "Stretch out your hand."
Liu An looked up, stretched out his hand obediently, and opened his palm.
Song Baoyuan placed her hand on her palm, pressed it, and then withdrew it.
What remained in Liuan's palm was a bright amulet.
In this white snow, this touch of red is particularly eye-catching.
"I wish you a safe journey." Song Baoyuan said sincerely.
Liu An's eyes were sore, but she didn't want to leave in tears. So she closed her palms and leaned forward to embrace the person in front of her.
Pretending to be carefree, he said, "Wait for me to come back and drink with me."
"good."
"Leave."
Liu An simply let go of her, turned around, and quickly got into the carriage.
Song Baoyuan stood there, watching the carriage slowly moving away, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
The snow is falling harder.
The carriage eventually became a tiny dot at the end of the field of vision, its ruts covered by fresh, heavy snow.
Eventually, there was no trace left.
"We should go back too." Xie Yuchao stepped forward and reminded him, "Otherwise, the snow will block the road and it will be difficult to move forward."
"Um."
Song Baoyuan looked back every few steps, returned to the carriage, and stuck her head out the window to look in the direction Liu An left.
So much so that snowflakes fell on her head.
"Don't catch a cold." Xie Yuchao said helplessly.
"Do you think she will really be a different person when she comes back?" Song Baoyuan seemed thoughtful.
Xie Yuchao leaned against the window and said, "Maybe."
“Whoa!”
"Bang!"
The carriage suddenly stopped and Song Baoyuan almost fell to the ground due to inertia. Fortunately, Xie Yuchao helped her up.
There was a lot of noise outside, and I could hear the sound of swords and knives.
"What's wrong?" Song Baoyuan looked up in confusion.
"You guys stay inside, I'll go out and take a look."
Xie Yuchao signaled Qiao Yin beside him to keep an eye on Song Baoyuan, and then he walked out.
It's a mess.
A group of people appeared out of nowhere, dressed in rags, with their faces masked and armed, and ran straight towards the carriage.
Aqi appeared on the roof of the car, and together with the secret guards, they held swords in their hands to stop them.
“Woo!”
A long knife slashed at someone through the car window, and Qiao Yin cried out in fear.
She hugged Song Baoyuan tightly, closed her eyes, and trembled all over.
Ah Qi stepped on the man with the knife and showed his face at the window. "Don't be afraid, young lady. They might be bandits. There are not many of them."
He quickly said this and disappeared, landing on the ground to fight with someone of unknown origin.
Song Baoyuan huddled in the corner, patting the back of Qiaoyin's hand to comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay."
"drive!"
The coachman was hit by an arrow. Xie Yuchao helped him aside and took over his position, driving the carriage out of the crowd.
But the snow was so heavy that it was difficult to walk.
"Go!" Xie Yuchao's face was full of seriousness, and he did not dare to slack off.
"call out!"
Sharp arrows flew from the woods on both sides, and unexpectedly a group of masked men came running and chased the carriage relentlessly.
"Hiss." Xie Yuchao gasped as the sharp arrow grazed his arm. He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, tightened the reins, and turned to avoid it. "Go!"
"Bastard!" Aqi cursed in a low voice. He didn't expect that another group of people would appear.
He was surrounded and couldn't get away.
The curtain of the carriage was blown up by the cold wind, and Song Baoyuan saw the scene outside. A masked man actually jumped onto the carriage.
"Be careful!" Song Baoyuan exclaimed.
In a panic, Xie Yuchao ducked to avoid the masked man's knife. He stretched out his leg, intending to sweep the masked man off the carriage, but the latter seemed too lazy to fight and went straight into the carriage.
“Don’t come over here!”
Qiao Yin stood in front of Song Baoyuan with a fearless attitude.
Xie Yuchao didn't bother to control the direction of the carriage, turned around and grabbed the masked man's arm holding the knife.
"A Chao!"
The masked man swung a knife back, and Xie Yu leaned back to avoid it, losing his balance. The masked man then kicked him in the chest.
Xie Yuchao fell off the carriage and rolled twice in the snow before stopping.
In the carriage, the masked man grabbed Qiao Yin's collar and dragged her away with brute force.
"Don't touch my lady! If you have any problem, come to me! Don't touch my lady!"
But she was too fragile and could not withstand the masked man's strength. She was dragged away and left behind in the carriage.
Not only did Song Baoyuan fail to hold her back, she was also pulled up herself.
"W-What do you want to do?"
The masked man said nothing, but knocked her unconscious with a ruthless knife.
Song Baoyuan suddenly lost consciousness and was carried away by him.
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