Corriendo de un lado a otro y desempeñando papeles secundarios

Capítulo 36

Wang Naigong glanced at her too, and Li Yuxuan saw surprise in that glance. He was probably wondering how she could be so calm and indifferent to her family. She herself felt a little ashamed; if all of this were true…

But why did Wang Naigong tell her all this?

If it were truly for her own good, then all of this should be kept a secret, so that this secret would never see the light of day, like Prince Xin and Zhan Zhao, guarding the secret and protecting her peaceful life. Because being a Khitan would lead to her utter ruin.

So, Wang Naigong actually just wanted to use this secret to make Li Yuxuan willingly work for him, right? She lowered her head, pretending not to see Wang Naigong's gaze: "If there's nothing else, I'll go out first and won't disturb you two from catching up."

Seeing Yang Xiao nod in agreement, she immediately left the house and walked out into the courtyard. The snow was still falling; in the north, it must snow all the time during winter, right? At Yumen Pass, she saw that every household had pasted up red peach wood charms; it must be almost New Year's Day. She wondered which day was New Year's Eve. And what her role would be on New Year's Eve?

If Wang Naigong were to announce that she was a descendant of a certain Khitan, would she still be able to see New Year's Eve? One should not have the heart to harm others, but one should not be without the heart to guard against others; this Wang Naigong is someone we must be wary of.

Once outside the courtyard, a servant immediately led her back to her residence. Li Yuxuan had a gloomy face the whole way. When she returned to her room, Xu Qingzhi was startled by her expression.

She avoided Xu Qingzhi's concerned gaze, looked down at the ground, and whispered, "Big brother, you should go back first. I'm not in a good mood. Let me have some peace and quiet."

Looking at her, Xu Qingzhi suddenly grinned, revealing his teeth: "Don't you even want to hear my good news?"

"Oh? Good news? Did Xu Zhu reply?" She raised her eyes and asked impatiently. She really didn't want to stay here any longer; every minute was a trap, and she didn't know what would happen next.

Xu Qingzhi smiled and shook his head: "Of course not, how could it be that fast? Guess again."

Li Yuxuan lowered his eyes again: "Besides this, there's no good news."

"What if it's good news from Miss Haitang?"

"Haitang?" Recalling the resentful look in her eyes, she shuddered. "What good news could she possibly have? I think she'd rather steam me and eat me alive."

Why does she hate you?

Li Yuxuan rolled her eyes at the person who asked the question, her voice still lazy: "Big brother, are you making fun of me? I don't have a relationship with her like Prince Xin, how would I know why she hates me? Could it be that she's jealous because I'm getting along well with you guys? And she's throwing a tantrum?"

"You!" Xu Qingzhi walked over and tapped her on the head: "What kind of nonsense are you thinking? When she brought me back, she told me that if we were willing to escape, she would be willing to help us."

She grabbed Xu Qingzhi's hand that was resting on her head and looked directly into his eyes: "Brother, if I were a Khitan, what would you do?"

Xu Qingzhi's hand, which had been grabbed, flinched slightly, her face flushing slightly as she avoided Li Yuxuan's eyes: "Don't joke around, how could you possibly be a Khitan? You're just a weak woman..."

Li Yuxuan gripped his hand tightly. This answer made her anxious heart ache even more. She stubbornly raised her voice: "Big brother, look at me. I need a straight answer from you. Tell me, what will you do?"

"I don't know what to do, we're still brothers." Xu Qingzhi finally met Li Yuxuan's gaze directly: "Your place in my heart will never change."

Li Yuxuan let go of his hand, and suddenly felt a sense of emptiness and fear. She was really afraid that everything would become reality. Although her previous reality was not much better than this, and although she was playing around with her life by disguising herself as a man, if she really was a descendant of the Khitan people, would everyone around her leave her?

She really hoped Xu Qingzhi would come over and give her a hug. Xu Qingzhi was so smart, how could he not see through her intentions? Couldn't he understand the meaning behind her question?

She wasn't strong at all. She longed for a strong shoulder to lean on right now, someone who would say, "Don't be afraid, I'm here for you. I don't care if you're Khitan or Han!"

She didn't lean on his shoulder this time. She forced back the tears that threatened to spill, reached out and hugged Xu Qingzhi's waist, resting her head on his chest, and smiled: "Big brother, we'll always be brothers! You'll always be my big brother!"

Having said that, he released her hand, took a step back, and continued to laugh: "Brother, I was just teasing you, just trying to ease the tension. So, tell me, Miss Haitang, how do you plan to help us escape?"

Xu Qingzhi sighed almost imperceptibly and sat back down in his chair: "It's better not to say anything. I know you won't abandon Brother Zhan to run for your life, and neither will I. Just pretend I didn't say anything."

Li Yuxuan sat down in the chair opposite him: "I see. They don't dare to do anything to Brother Zhan. The First Manor and the Imperial Court hate each other to the bone, yet they need each other. The First Manor doesn't dare to openly and blatantly oppose the Imperial Court. As long as we go out and spread rumors that Zhan Zhao has been captured by the First Manor, what I don't understand is, for so many years, the First Manor and the Imperial Court have kept to themselves. Why did they suddenly clash this time?"

“Someone instigated this!” Xu Qingzhi began to fiddle with his fingers. “This is an internal problem for them, so let’s not speculate. If what you say is true, it’s good that they’re escaping.”

"The problem is, didn't Miss Haitang call Wang Naigong 'father'? Why would she betray Wang Naigong to help us escape?" Could it be that she really remembers Su Erge's kindness? That's unlikely; she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would suddenly become so kind.

For some reason, she never liked this girl named Haitang. The thought of her, or perhaps the fact that she had once been someone's mistress, made her feel particularly resentful. Maybe that's why she disliked her! She was jealous!

Xu Qingzhi emphasized slightly: "As far as I know, she was just Wang Naigong's adopted daughter. Wang Rou died, and she came back. She was Wang Naigong's only adopted daughter. But Wang Naigong suddenly said he would pass the First Manor to you. What do you think you would do if you were Wang Rou?"

"I can watch the show! Doesn't she realize that taking the position of the young master of the First Manor at this time is tantamount to courting death?" Li Yuxuan shook his head dismissively.

"What if she doesn't want others to get themselves killed?"

"Huh?" Li Yuxuan looked at Xu Qingzhi in shock: "What did you say? You think it's her?"

Xu Qingzhi shook his head: "No, I'm just guessing based on common sense. Because the biggest beneficiary of Wang Rou's death is her. And just now, I was also thinking about why Wang Naigong gave you the First Manor instead of her. There are only two reasons: first, to protect her; second, because he distrusts and suspects her! And her decision to send us away is also for two reasons: one, she really wants to help us; two, she doesn't want us to get involved and make more enemies. She's been in the capital for so long, she must be very familiar with Prince Xin and Zhan Zhao, so she doesn't want to be our enemy unless absolutely necessary."

“Yes.” Li Yuxuan’s mind was completely turned by Xu Qingzhi. The Khitans were not the most urgent matter. “If that’s the case, she has no reason to disobey Wang Naigong and help us, so only the second possibility remains. She was just deceived by your appearance, Scholar Xu. She didn’t know that you look like an innocent rabbit, but you are actually a fox at heart. That’s why she came to you to conspire and then asked you to persuade me. She probably thinks I’m the fox, but I’m much purer than you.”

Xu Qingzhi pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand: "Third brother, talking to you is truly a pleasure. You actually used 'little white rabbit' to describe me. Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"To be the big bad wolf?"

*Thud*... Blood splattered everywhere: "I want to beat you up!"

Li Yuxuan gazed at his handsome face, her mind reeling. Memories of their first meeting flashed before her eyes: his reserved, shy smile, his flowing blue robe, his warm gaze—all now replaced by this distant, unreachable distance. So close, yet so far? She really had a silver tongue. If she weren't an official, could she write a book called "The Divine Fortune Teller in Plain Clothes" and start telling fortunes?

She unconsciously clutched her clothes: "Big brother, it's late. You can beat me up tomorrow. Let's rest today!"

A fleeting look of melancholy crossed Xu Qingzhi's eyes, but it didn't escape Li Yuxuan's notice, who was staring intently at him. Seeing the smile on Xu Qingzhi's lips, she also gave an exaggerated smile: "Goodnight!"

"Good night!"

"Goodnight! Goodnight!" Watching Xu Qingzhi's figure disappear from her sight, Li Yuxuan sat back down on the stool. She didn't want to sleep, nor was she sleepy. She just suddenly felt unsure how to continue her relationship with Xu Qingzhi without hurting each other. He was different from Prince Xin and Zhan Zhao; his present was the result of his hard work and dedication, the culmination of ten years of diligent study. She didn't want him to lose everything because of her. With his character and abilities, he would achieve great things, display his talents, and live a life of his own.

The most important point is that this has always been his dream. It's what he's been pursuing for the past twenty years.

What was he thinking in the next room? He stood there motionless, watching her weakness, which already showed his feelings, didn't it? And he saw the decisiveness in her embrace, didn't he?

From then on, Xiao Lang was a stranger.

passerby, passerby, passerby

Life is full of disappointments

The next morning, Li Yuxuan stayed up late before getting up. Wang Naigong brought her a concealed weapon that had been made. It was a sheepskin wristband that could be wrapped around the hand. The wristband was fastened with iron nails and divided into eight small compartments. Each compartment contained a delicate knife. The knife was conical but not sharp. The handle was left outside and decorated with red silk. It looked quite elegant when worn. It would be difficult for most people to tell that it was a concealed weapon.

This thing suited Li Yuxuan's taste perfectly, and she immediately took it to her room to practice. Her internal strength was not bad, but what she lacked was eyesight and accuracy.

Red lanterns began to be hung in the manor, for it was now the second day, and tomorrow would be the third day Wang Naigong had mentioned. Just as she was inwardly lamenting Xu Qingzhi's absence, Xu Qingzhi and Haitang entered her room, bringing her even more shocking news: Prince Xin of Qingzhou refused to come forward to exchange Zhan Zhao, even at the cost of his life. Tonight, Zhan Zhao would be taken to Qingzhou by Wang Naigong. She requested that after they were rescued, they could try to intercept Zhan Zhao on the way.

Li Yuxuan quickly nodded and asked to see Zhan Zhao, but Xu Qingzhi stopped him, saying that Miss Haitang had already taken a great risk and they couldn't cause her any more trouble.

Li Yuxuan understood his meaning. He was cautious and dared not make any mistakes at this crucial moment. In other words, he couldn't let Miss Haitang reveal her true colors in front of Wang Naigong at this time.

After saying these words, Xu Qingzhi saw Haitang off, leaving Li Yuxuan alone in the room once again.

A maidservant entered and poured tea for Li Yuxuan, asking if she needed any help. Li Yuxuan knew that the maids in this courtyard were all sent by Wang Naigong to imprison him, so he didn't even look at her and waved her away. But the maidservant stood still and called out softly, "Lord Li!"

Startled by her voice, Li Yuxuan jumped up from the stool. Looking at the maid in front of him, he saw a beautiful and refined woman with a smile on her lips. She was Xiao Lei, Li Xinyun's personal maid.

Li Yuxuan was overjoyed and rushed over to grab her hand, lowering his voice to ask, "How did you two get here so quickly?"

Xiao Lei looked towards the door and whispered, "Brother Xu's message was sent out yesterday afternoon, and we received the message from the messenger that evening." Seeing that Li Yuxuan did not believe her, she smiled and said, "Lord Li, our Lingjiu Palace has more than 10,000 people from the eight tribes spread throughout Western Xia and the Central Plains. Otherwise, how could I have entered this First Manor as soon as I arrived?"

Li Yuxuan rubbed his head: "That makes sense. I should have thought of that earlier. The First Manor isn't far from Lingjiu Palace, so there must be some of your people inside." He then gave a mischievous smile: "How did Lingjiu Palace become your Lingjiu Palace? Could it be that Xuzhu has become Zhang Sheng, and you've become that little matchmaker who makes the bed?"

Seeing Xiaolei looking at her with a puzzled expression, knowing that she hadn't understood the profound meaning of her words, she pulled her to sit down: "You're here, what are you going to do?"

Xiaolei didn't answer. She wrote the character "走" (go) on the table with her tea. Then she pointed to the door and quickly darted out of the other window.

The door was pushed open, and the maid who had been watching over them carried in the food. Li Yuxuan adjusted her breathing and smiled, "Sister, you've worked hard."

The woman glanced at her but didn't answer. Aside from the day she brought them in, Li Yuxuan had barely seen her speak. Unfortunately, she was cold and aloof, and her beauty wasn't all that captivating. She even looked at Li Yuxuan as if he were a pervert. It just goes to show how incredibly poor some people's judgment is.

The woman put down the food, glanced around, closed the door, and left. She didn't say a word the entire time. Her face was as dark as Judge Bao's.

She went out, and Xiaolei came back in. Li Yuxuan picked up the steamed bun to eat, but Xiaolei stopped him, testing it with a silver needle—no poison. She then tested the soup, which was also clean. Only then did Xiaolei let go: "You can eat it!"

Li Yuxuan chuckled, "If I were going to use poison, I wouldn't be alive now." Xiaolei scanned the entire room, "Don't be careless. Now that Wang Rou is dead, naturally some people don't want you to take the position of young master. Besides, you do have an inextricable connection with the First Manor." As if realizing she had let something slip, she smiled, "The Prince Consort said that if you agree to tomorrow's ceremony, he will naturally appear at the ceremony. If possible, he can also settle all your previous grudges for you. Also, we sent someone to inform Brother Xiao last night. Don't worry, no one will dare to do anything to you."

Li Yuxuan almost choked on the steamed bun: "What did you say? You want to settle my past grudges? I don't want that! I just want you to rescue me and keep the real secret or the fake secret to myself. I don't want to know about the past."

Xiaolei was surprised that someone wouldn't want to know about her background, and her eyes widened: "Why?"

Li Yuxuan picked up the cup on the table, took a sip of water, and swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth: "I don't want to be a Khitan."

Xiaolei's eyes widened even more: "So you knew everything!" Then she rolled her eyes at her: "You even told Prince Xin to tell Brother Xiao not to say anything, for fear of upsetting you."

Li Yuxuan's mouth hung open, unable to close: "You mean Brother Xiao knows too? You all know? And I'm the only one who doesn't? Tsk tsk, you guys really are my good friends and brothers—"

"And Brother Xu doesn't know either." Xiao Lei lowered her eyes, a rare occurrence for her. "Lord Li, when I came in just now, I saw Brother Xu walking out with a woman. Who is that woman?"

"She is Wang Naigong's adopted daughter, and also an old acquaintance of ours in Bianliang City. She said she would let us escape tonight."

"Old acquaintances?" Xiaolei's voice lowered. "Are you leaving tonight?"

"Since you're here, we won't leave. By the way, she said she's taking Zhan Zhao to Qingzhou tonight. Could you help me rescue Brother Zhan first?"

"Hehe." Xiaolei winked at her playfully: "The princess and the prince consort said that my task is to protect you and Brother Xu. I don't need to worry about anything else. Also, let me tell you, Brother Zhan was taken away early this morning. Your information is outdated."

Li Yuxuan sighed heavily: "I haven't even used any of the things Brother Xuzhu taught me yet. Am I too afraid of death? I'm in this manor and haven't been able to find out a single thing. I'm just sitting here waiting for someone to come and rescue me. Am I too useless and pathetic? No wonder Brother Xuzhu refused to take me as his disciple. He must have seen that I'm just a coward who loves life and is afraid of death."

There was a knock at the door. Xiaolei hid behind the screen. Li Yuxuan stopped his self-analysis and went to open the door. Xu Qingzhi stood in the doorway, covered in snowflakes. Li Yuxuan quickly pulled him inside.

When Xiaolei saw that it was Xu Qingzhi, she immediately turned out from behind the screen with a smile. Her smile was as soft, sweet, and cloying as if she had just eaten honey. Every time Li Yuxuan saw Xiaolei's smile, he regretted that he was born the wrong gender.

Xu Qingzhi was also very excited: "You came so fast!"

"As soon as I received the news, I set off overnight. Qingyun is not far from here, so I arrived at noon today by fast horse."

"What are your plans regarding the Prince?" Xu Qingzhi sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and drank. "We don't have anything to do, but you need to expedite things with the Prince and Brother Zhan."

"Someone has already gone over there, Brother Xu, don't worry." Xiaolei smiled gently and sat down next to him. "So, are you leaving tonight or not?"

Li Yuxuan sat down again: "Let's go, why not? At worst, we can leave tonight and come back tomorrow. If we don't leave, there might not be a tomorrow."

——－

The afternoon was peaceful, probably because some people were busy with things for tomorrow.

The night was peaceful; no one drugged them or kept a close watch on them. Xiaolei had already left, saying she would meet them outside the estate.

Li Yuxuan and Xu Qingzhi stayed in the room, staring at each other, waiting for Haitang to appear.

Around four in the morning, Haitang, dressed in black, appeared in their house. The two men followed her silently up the mountain behind the estate. They walked until they reached the back of the estate, where Haitang stopped at the foot of a wall. In the dim light reflected from the snow, Li Yuxuan saw a bamboo and rattan ladder hanging on the wall. Haitang pointed at the ladder and said, "Hurry up!" before disappearing into the darkness.

Li Yuxuan touched the rattan ladder, just about to put his foot on it, when footsteps came from all directions. The gleaming white steel blades looked terrifying against the backdrop of the snowflakes.

Xu Qingzhi, who was holding the rattan ladder, clapped his hands, stood up straight, and took Li Yuxuan's hand: "Alright, third brother, stop fooling around, let's go back to sleep."

Li Yuxuan looked around, but Haitang was nowhere to be seen. He chuckled and said, "You all have such a leisurely time, coming to admire the snow and chat about love in the middle of the night?"

Those people silently surrounded them like shadows. Li Yuxuan knew that Haitang was still a bit too inexperienced and had been fooled by the old fox Wang Naigong.

Fortunately, the two hadn't held out much hope for their escape anyway, so they went back inside together. Neither could sleep, and they continued staring at each other, unable to get enough of each other. Until they both ended up with panda eyes.

Early in the morning, Wang Naigong sent someone to deliver the clothes that Li Yuxuan would wear that day. Xiao Lei somehow managed to blend in as the maid delivering the clothes.

Li Yuxuan opened the clothes and found a tragic set of bright red women's clothing, along with a box of jewelry.