flamboyant - Chapter 29
Behind her lay the lake. Feng Ning stood frozen, daring not to look back. She took off running, intending to leap down and rejoin the others, when she saw two men in black below, swords raised and shouting at her. They had apparently discovered her and were loudly warning the others. At that moment, the three men in black behind her caught up. Feng Ning had no time to hesitate and had to change direction, leaping towards the top of a large tree.
The men in black pursued relentlessly. Feng Ning was unarmed and had no reinforcements. She ran in fear, hoping to encounter helpers, but also afraid that if she ran into those weak members of the Long family, she would end up getting hurt and killed.
As she rushed forward, she came to the high walls of the Dragon Mansion. Looking back, Feng Ning saw six or seven men in black chasing after her. It seemed they had abandoned everything for the small box in her arms. Feng Ning gritted her teeth, leaped away, and jumped off.
The dark streets were deserted and desolate. Feng Ning had run in the wrong direction, going in the opposite direction from the officials and royal guards who had come to support the Long Mansion. She encountered no help and had nowhere to go in the vast city. The men in black behind her were relentlessly pursuing her. She could only run desperately, dodging left and right, circling around the city. Finally, she hid in a haystack in an abandoned house, where she was able to catch her breath.
Feng Ning thought that dawn was approaching, and those men in black, dressed like that, couldn't possibly be seen in broad daylight. They would surely disperse and change clothes, giving her a chance to safely deliver the items back. But upon further reflection, how would she get the items back? Steward Tie wasn't there, nor were Long Er and Long San. The guards had suffered many casualties that night. These assassins dared to raid the General's Mansion in the capital, right under the emperor's nose; if they didn't have some influence and connections, how could they dare to act so recklessly?
Their objective was clear. They knew the exact location of the hidden box, were familiar with Granny Yu's status and position, and were well-versed in the layout of the Long Mansion. Feng Ning simply refused to believe there wasn't an inside agent. She thought of Xia'er; perhaps Xia'er was one of the agents? But she had been accidentally driven out of the mansion, and now there were probably still some people with ill intentions hiding there. What if the things were stolen if she returned them now?
Feng Ning nestled in the smelly haystack, thinking that she would be better off hiding and handing it over to Long Er and Long San when they returned.
She pondered and pondered, and decided not to return to the manor for the time being. Instead, she planned to sneak out of the city and stay in the suburbs for a couple of days until Long San and the others returned.
Finally, daylight slowly broke through the darkness. Feng Ning listened intently, and when she could no longer hear the footsteps of anyone searching, she quietly crawled out. In this secluded place, with no one around, Feng Ning looked at herself. She was covered in blood and mud, her hair hadn't been combed last night, her clothes were disheveled, and she wasn't wearing socks. She probably looked no better than if she had been dressed in black.
So Feng Ning decided to tidy herself up first. She sneaked into a farmhouse, but no one was inside; they must all be out doing farm work. She found a mirror on the table and took a good look at herself. She was shocked by her appearance; her face was so dirty and her hair so messy—it was truly a terrible sight.
She washed her face and hands with water from a small water vat next to the farmhouse, took out some of the girl's clothes, combed her hair, found a wide belt, carefully wrapped the small box around her waist, and put on her clothes. She looked like a normal girl, and Feng Ning was satisfied.
She said to the empty room, "I had no choice but to steal your clothes. I will repay you tenfold in the future. Thank you so much!" She turned to leave, but as soon as she stepped out the door, she felt extremely hungry. After thinking for a moment, she turned back and said to the empty room, "Um, how about lending me some more money?"
Without hesitation, Feng Ning rummaged through the family's small cabinets and boxes, finally finding two strings of copper coins in a small earthenware jar. Feng Ning thought to herself that she was truly suited to be a thief, managing to find something so well-hidden. She clasped her hands in thanks to the jar and prepared to leave, but then she thought, "They'll go hungry, won't they? What will they do if I take it all?" Feeling guilty, she turned back and put one string of coins back. Then she thought again, "This family has many members, and I'm all alone." She hesitated, counting the coins again and again. How many buns could one string of coins buy? Finally, gritting her teeth, she put the other half back.
She put the small earthenware pot back in its place and said, "When Long San comes back, I will ask him for the money and return it to you tenfold. Don't blame me." After saying that, she carefully carried away the half string of copper coins.
Feng Ning was dressed in coarse cloth, looking like a village girl. She didn't have much money and couldn't afford meat buns, so she bought a few vegetarian buns to fill her stomach. She ate them as she walked towards the crowd, intending to blend into the crowd and leave the city.
As she swallowed the last bite of the steamed bun, she muttered to herself, "Long San, I'm starving. You have to treat me to a good meal when you come back." Just as she finished speaking, she noticed two suspicious men in blue robes standing by the city gate. They weren't leaving the city but were instead looking around. Their eyes and expressions suggested they were not good people.
Feng Ning panicked for a moment, but quickly composed herself and walked briskly to the man carrying a load on a shoulder pole. A child followed closely beside the man, holding the rope of the pole; the child must be the man's son. Feng Ning leaned close to the child, smiled down at him, and the boy, unfazed, returned the smile when he saw a pretty girl smile. As Feng Ning walked beside him, she gently stroked his head. From a distance, they looked like a family of three.
Feng Ning walked past the man in blue without any fuss and easily exited the city gate. Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a village woman waiting outside the gate called out loudly to the man beside her, "Husband, you've finally arrived. Wait, who is she?"
The village woman had an unusually loud voice, attracting the attention of everyone around her. Feng Ning thought to herself that something was wrong. Sure enough, the two men in blue looked over when they heard her. When Feng Ning met their eyes, she turned and ran. The man in blue was indeed the assassin from last night, and he chased after her.
Feng Ning didn't know the way, so she could only run forward with all her might. Occasionally, she would look back and see that there were more than two people chasing after her. She was very annoyed, but she had no other choice but to run away.
Feng Ning was chased all the way to the neighboring town, but before she could even rest, she was pursued to the next city. She fought and ran, but had long since run out of money, so she had to steal clothes and food. She was afraid of rivers, lakes, and wells, and hadn't been able to wash or groom herself for several days. She only managed to wash herself in a basin when she found a farmer's house to stay overnight. She endured this miserable existence, eating and sleeping outdoors.
One day, she sneaked into the kitchen of a restaurant to steal a bite to eat. She overheard a cook and a waiter chatting, saying that a certain family's intractable disease had been cured in Baiqiao City, and how powerful and prestigious Baiqiao City was. Feng Ning suddenly remembered that Long San had said that the city lord, Nie Chengyan, was his close friend.
That day, Feng Ning thought it best to seek refuge with Nie Chengyan first, hand over the box to him, and lure away those who were chasing her. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about the box falling into their hands. Nie Chengyan would also surely have a way to notify Long San, so Long San could come and pick up the box and her at the same time.
During her time as a wanderer, Feng Ning had thought a lot. She recalled that day: Granny Yu's suspicious gaze, the surprised expressions of the guards, maids, and servants when they saw she knew martial arts, and her desperate fight on the library tower, where the Long family guards asked her if she knew those villains. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it, but now, reflecting on it carefully, she felt incredibly wronged. The Long family must have thought she was faking it again, that she had conspired with outsiders to steal things.
Come to think of it, she did take the things, but instead of delivering them to the Long family, she ran away with them. Considering the good deeds she did during the period when she had no memory of them, it's hard to expect people to think the best of her.
Feng Ning grew increasingly distressed, and could only console herself that things would soon pass. Once she safely returned the items to the Long family, the truth would come to light. She couldn't care less what others thought, but she could try her best to do good deeds. Besides, Long San wouldn't abandon her; he would believe her and come looking for her.
She huddled under a big tree, warming herself by the fire, praying that the evil men would let her rest and stop chasing her, while thinking about where to find food the next day.
Before falling asleep, she murmured to herself, "Long San, I'm hungry, I have no clothes to change into, I'm dirty and smelly, no one is talking to me, no one cares about me... Long San... I miss you..."
Author's Note: Feng Ning is heading to Hundred Bridges City. She'll meet Long San in the next chapter, and they'll have some alone time together, haha~~~
twenty two
22. The Third Madam of the Dragon Clan's Reunion with Her Husband...
Feng Ning's thinking was actually correct. The Long family was in an uproar because of her disappearance with the small box. There were many suspicious points left by Feng Ning in this matter. Granny Yu alone could point out several of them. In addition, with the testimony of the seriously injured guard, Feng Ning did say to the man in black, "It really was you." Obviously, the two knew each other.
Long Er and Long San, who rushed home, were not overcome with anger or anxiety; in the face of such a serious matter, they remained calm. However, for every point raised by the others, Long San refuted it, saying, "If Feng Ning intended to steal, given her skills as you have seen, she could have done it the moment my second brother and I stepped outside. Why wait for outsiders to come and put on a show?"
Long Er thought about it and realized that this didn't make sense. If Feng Ning was determined to do evil, she would have succeeded by simply capturing Granny Yu. There was no need for such a risky fight.
"But why didn't she come back after taking the things?" Long Er felt that the possibility of collusion from within and without was unlikely, but it was very possible that she took advantage of the chaos to steal the treasure.
Long San glanced at him: "There's obviously an inside man in the family. Feng Ning naturally knows that no one trusts her. Now that she's brought the things back and they've been snatched away by someone hiding in the shadows, she has no way to explain herself."
Long Er said, "You seem to understand her quite well."
Long San replied, "Don't think the worst of her, and you'll understand."
Long Er was taken aback and could only say, "It seems you're not planning to use the Jianghu Token to search for her. So what do you plan to do?"
"I'll leave the house to you," Long San replied. "I'll go find her myself. If she's safe, she'll find a way to let me find her."
And so, Long San made the arrangements and set off. He searched along the way, not based on Feng Ning's appearance, but on strangely stolen items, items that were being chased, and items that were far from waterways. In this way, he actually found some clues.
Meanwhile, Feng Ning, having made up her mind to go to Baiqiao City, settled down in Qingfeng City first. Qingfeng City was a distance from Baiqiao City, neither too far nor too near. Feng Ning had scouted it out; this city was a transportation hub connecting the surrounding areas, making it easier to shake off her pursuers. This would buy her more time to quietly deliver the item to Nie Chengyan, then return to lure the men in black elsewhere. Nie Chengyan would surely notify Long San to retrieve the box, and then she could rush back and travel with Long San, ensuring her safety.
Thinking this through, she devised a plan. She caused a scene at the East Gate to show that she had left there, but the men in black, having been fooled all along, indeed thought it was a smokescreen. They believed she must have sneaked back into the city or found another way out, so they remained guarding the city gates and searching and inquiring throughout the city. But Feng Ning had indeed run away openly through the East Gate.
She rushed along, stopping when she was almost at Baiqiao City. She thought that she was going to find Long San's friend, and as Long San's wife, she couldn't embarrass him. How could she be all dirty and smelly?
So she found an inn and checked in. Despite being penniless, she held her head high and acted like she owned the place. She demanded the best room, asked the waiter to buy her clothes, ordered wine and dishes, and asked for hot water to take a bath. The innkeeper and waiter didn't suspect she was a poor woman at all, and overlooked her inappropriate attire.
Feng Ning enjoyed a long-awaited hearty meal, then thoroughly washed herself from head to toe, dressed herself up, and looked like a noblewoman. She then looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction and said, "Long San, look how good I am to you! I haven't embarrassed you outside!" That night, Feng Ning leaped from the window onto the roof, escaping the inn and heading towards Baiqiao City.
She traveled tirelessly, day and night, and finally arrived at the Nie residence in Baiqiao City. Nie Chengyan was not what she had imagined. She had thought that since they were close friends, he would be a dashing and romantic young man like Long San, but Nie Chengyan turned out to be a stern and cold-blooded lame man.