Escape
Mu Qing ran around in the forest, exhausting nearly half her strength before finally finding her way. She reached the edge of the river near the forest, picked a slightly crooked tree, and nimbly climbed up.
Then, Song Baixuan caught up and forced her to continue climbing. When they were almost at the treetop, the weight of the two of them made the branches sway.
Seeing him approaching through the branches, Mu Qing stepped to the side and landed on a slightly thicker branch.
Song Baixuan, unafraid of falling, leaped down, grabbed the tree trunk behind her, and trapped her in his arms, saying sarcastically, "You certainly know how to pick a spot; the scenery here is quite nice."
It is a good 30 feet above the ground. Because it is close to the treetop, you can hear the wind. The surrounding branches and leaves are relatively sparse, and you can see the city through the gaps. There are also lush green shrubs under the intertwined branches, which extend down the hillside to the inner city river.
Mu Qing glanced around and looked back at Song Baixuan, who was blocking her way and almost wrapped around her.
He wasn't ugly; his narrow eyebrows and eyes seemed to hold a melancholy air. Although he was gloomy, he didn't have the naked desires of a lecherous person.
Mu Qing looked at him, and a thought suddenly occurred to her, "You hate me?"
Song Baixuan scoffed, "Otherwise, do you think everyone likes you?"
Mu Qing said, "But why do you hate me? I haven't done anything bad to you."
Song Baixuan gave a cold laugh, "Just the fact that you're alive is enough to make you detestable."
He was once the chieftain's son, pampered and fawned over, called "Young Master." But because his father was a good-for-nothing, he lost face and became a lackey after joining Thunderclap Village, causing him to be trampled upon as well. People said his father was Chieftain Mu's dog, so he became "Second Dog."
Chief Mu's daughter wasn't much older than him. Apart from her pretty face, she had never seen anyone, yet she acted like a high-and-mighty young lady.
Song Baixuan grabbed her chin, stared at her face, and sneered, "With such high brow bones, it's clearly a characteristic of the Hu people. How come no one in the Lu family noticed? They're all blind."
"You..." Since you are a student of Wansong Academy, shouldn't you show some respect to Master Lu, who is your teacher?
Mu Qing glared at him, the last part of her sentence stuck in her throat.
She thought that anyone would cherish a respectable identity. But Song Baixuan spoke with a bandit-like air, clearly still longing for his days in the mountain stronghold.
Seeing her resentment, Song Baixuan used his fingertips to scratch her face, leaving bloody marks, and said with a sinister smile, "Miss, do you know where my father calls you 'Miss' the most?"
Hearing his lewd tone, Mu Qing felt a chill run down her spine and even felt like vomiting.
"You figured it out?" Song Baixuan chuckled. "My father used to hire a lot of prostitutes. When he was in bed with them, he called them 'Miss,' but they were either not as charming or as pretty as you. When he took me away from the village, he found out that I hadn't kept an eye on you and that you had escaped. He even scolded me."
Mu Qing tried to turn her head and struggled to push away the hand that was pinching her chin, but her neck was grabbed and she was pressed heavily against the tree trunk behind her. She trembled in pain but could not break free.
Song Baixuan smiled coldly, leaned down and turned his head to kiss the scratches he had just left on her face.
The hand gripping his neck was forceful, yet the lips and tongue touching his face were remarkably gentle—what a bizarre act!
Mu Qing couldn't think straight. She was being choked to the point of near suffocation. She gritted her teeth, gripped the gold hairpin hidden in her sleeve, and stabbed it into Song Baixuan's back with all her might. As he pulled away in pain, she stabbed him in the chest, leaving a bloody mark.
Song Baixuan groaned, his eyes flashing with anger. He endured the sharp pain and tried to subdue her again, but she slipped, grabbed a tree branch, swung half a circle, and kicked him off.
After a crash, he slammed into a thick branch below. Mu Qing quickly jumped onto the branch, grabbed his collar, pressed his upper body against the branch, and used a gold hairpin to pierce his neck with trembling hands.
But Song Baixuan groaned and let out a cold laugh, "Miss, even if I become a ghost, I will still come looking for you."
Mu Qing didn't want to pay attention, but her hands were trembling so badly she couldn't use any strength until warm blood soaked between her fingers. In a panic, she pulled out the hairpin.
At this moment, Song Baixuan lowered his head.
Dead?
Mu Qing hurriedly retreated.
Song Baixuan's body lost its support and immediately fell down, rolling into the inner city river like a boulder falling into water, splashing water everywhere.
Halfway through the chase, Mu Qing came up with this plan, choosing this tree so that the corpse would fall into the river.
But seeing this scene unfold before her eyes, she couldn't help but tremble all over.
When she was focused on protecting herself, she felt she had to eliminate the other person from the world. Now that the crisis was over, her mind had calmed down, but she was somewhat confused. What exactly had she protected by killing that person? The Lu family's young lady's identity was undoubtedly innocent, but…
The slender hairpin in her hand, with its top carved with auspicious cloud patterns, gleamed with gold; it was originally a set of six. When the Third Madam gave her this set of hairpins, she certainly never imagined that she would use one of them to kill someone.
The hairpin was still dripping blood. She tried to wipe it, but couldn't get it clean. Her blood-stained hands only made the hairpin dirtier.
She looked around, unsure if anyone had noticed someone fall into the river, but if she didn't wash it off immediately, the blood would be harder to clean once it dried.
Without thinking twice, she jumped onto another tree, preparing to cross the bushes and head to the riverbank, when she heard a woman's voice.
"It must be here. Someone just fell into the river from here."
Mu Qing looked over in surprise and saw a boat coming onto the river. The boat had gold-lacquered carvings on its hull and belonged to the Zhen family on Bihua Island.
There were several figures at the bow of the boat, among whom the woman in scarlet dress wearing a veiled hat was the most eye-catching. Judging from her figure and voice, she was undoubtedly Zhen Xiangling.
Her voice wasn't loud, but because it was quiet around her and she wasn't far away, it wasn't hard to hear.
"Lu Jiu, didn't you see?"
A young man in a light gray long gown beside her replied, "I see it. But the river is quite deep, so it might not be easy to find."
He looked at the river and said, "If someone falls into the river, they're bound to be swept away by the current. Let's look downstream; maybe we can find them."
Zhen Xiangling nodded in approval and ordered the boat to be rowed downstream.
Mu Qing was hiding among the branches and leaves, just about to breathe a sigh of relief, when something suddenly hit her on the head. Looking down, she saw a baby bird fall to the ground. Startled, she dodged to the side, accidentally causing the branches and leaves to rustle.
There was no wind at the moment, but the rustling of a small clump of leaves immediately attracted the attention of the people on the boat.
Mu Qing's hiding place was rather unfortunate. She looked around and saw that the branches and leaves in front of her were sparse. When she looked up, her eyes met those of the young man on the boat.
"We've been seen again..." Mu Qing groaned inwardly, quickly retreating into the dense foliage. Hearing that the boat was about to dock and some people would be disembarking, she dared not linger and turned to leave.
Yiye Residence and Kangping Tower were not far from here. She looked at the blood on her hands and ran towards Yiye Residence.
Yiye Residence faces the bustling city, but the backyard is relatively quiet. Mu Qing walked over the layers of eaves and suddenly hesitated, wondering whether to go see Ayu.
They didn't have a pleasant time when they parted ways back then, and after many years, they've become even more estranged. Would Ayu want to see her?
Uncle Huai is also in Weizhou, and his relationship with Ayu isn't bad. Perhaps they've talked about her before, and Ayu might not find it strange that he's here to see her now.
Mu Qing squatted on the eaves, deep in thought. She heard someone drawing water in the courtyard. An idea struck her. After the sound of drawing water disappeared, she listened for a while and guessed that no one was there. It was almost noon, and everyone was busy.
She climbed to the wall and found the gates of the courtyard tightly closed, as if no one was there. She ran to the well, carefully drew a bucket of water, washed the bloodstains off her hands, hairpin, and cuffs, and cleaned the dirt off her shoes and the hem of her skirt.
Therefore, it is not necessary to find Ayu.
Mu Qing pondered that this place was quite far from the Lu residence, and it would be too risky to run back by leaping across rooftops and scaling walls. It would be safer to have Du Jiniang escort her.
She was in a hurry and didn't notice that a small window was open in the attic of Yiye Residence. Behind the window, a pair of eyes watched her climb onto the roof, think and observe, and fetch water to wash herself.
Inside Kangping Restaurant, Du Jiniang was feeling rather annoyed. The restaurant was doing brisk business at noon, but Aunt Man kept bothering her.
The two talked and struggled, moving from the lobby to the corridor and then to the back courtyard room.
Aunt Man pressed on relentlessly, "Ji Niang, there's no need to deny it anymore. With your sharp eyes and ears, how could you not know?"
Du Jiniang closed the door and smiled, "Aunt Man, you flatter me. I'm just a small businessperson. I know a bit about buying and selling, but I don't really know much about other people's affairs."
Aunt Man's voice grew louder, "Then how can you be sure that Miss Lu will become your friend because of borrowing an umbrella?"
"You bribed the people around me?" Du Jiniang's smile turned cold.
Her chance encounter with Miss Lu in the rain, where they met under an umbrella, was common knowledge. However, only those close to her knew that the encounter was planned beforehand, as she was certain that Miss Lu was not the real person. Most people with guilty consciences are soft-hearted.
Aunt Man did not deny it, saying, "You can't say that, I just overheard it by chance."
Du Jiniang sat down in the chair, remaining silent, waiting for the other party to explain their purpose.
The room became quiet; you could almost hear breathing.
Mu Qing sneaked into the room first, intending to come here when Du Jiniang was resting, but unexpectedly, other people came in with her.
She held her breath and lay on the beam, watching the old woman walk up to Du Jiniang, who looked somewhat familiar.
But when the old woman spoke again, she said, "Your Kangpinglou sourced its ingredients from Tianci Mountain and were quite familiar with the villagers at the foot of the mountain. Others may not know the truth, but with your shrewdness, Jiniang, you must have known long ago that the Miss Lu was an imposter."
Mu Qing froze, staring wide-eyed at the two people below, her mind a complete mess.
“Watch your words,” Du Jiniang said. “Walls have ears. If word gets out, I can’t afford the consequences.”
Aunt Man smiled bitterly, "Why put on such a show of distancing yourself? You helped me before because you guessed that my Xi'er was the real Miss Lu. Heaven have mercy, she was born into a superior family, but she has been reduced to making a living by performing, playing the zither for her own mother, and she can't even acknowledge her."
"Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and we can't blame anyone. We don't want to hate that fake young lady, but knowing where our loved ones are and only being able to watch from afar is heartbreaking. That's why I've come to beg you. Could you please help us get in touch with Miss Lu?"
Du Jiniang was silent for a while, then said, "What do you want to do? Giving up the wealth that is within your grasp, I'm afraid no one can do such a thing."
Aunt Man shook her head. "I dare not dream of such things. I just hope to get to know Miss Lu. If I am fortunate enough to become her sworn sister, it would give Xi'er more opportunities to meet her blood relatives. I would be eternally grateful."
Her words were tinged with sorrow, which evoked pity in the listener.
Du Jiniang looked at her again and again, but in the end she did not refuse.
After they left, the words "making a living by performing" and "playing the zither for her own mother" floated through Mu Qing's mind. She thought of the zither player Lu and couldn't come back to her senses for a long time.
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