Light streamed into the room from outside, sweeping away the gossip. Several maids, who were tending to the flowers and trees in the corridor in front of the door, kept their heads down and dared not speak.
"Where are my eldest and second brothers now?" Nie Qingyue's voice was a little hoarse.
Whether out of guilt or fear, no one spoke up.
Nie Qingyue glanced at Nianyu standing in front.
“The Smoke Pavilion outside the woods.” Nianyu hesitated for a moment before adding, “Miss, you should rest well in your room. The young master instructed me to take good care of you.”
"I won't make things difficult for you, you can all leave now."
Undoubtedly, Nie Qingyue went there hoping to see if the argument was related to her. However, when she arrived, the two of them were talking as they walked out of the pavilion, their faces no longer showing any signs of having argued.
The Broken Smoke Pavilion was built at the edge of the woods, surrounded by a long corridor full of flowers and trees, making hiding places almost everywhere. Nie Qingyue saw it from afar, hesitating whether to go to meet it or find a place to hide. After a long while, he stamped his foot and finally squatted down behind a lush tree.
Not long after, the eldest brother of the Nie family's voice, tinged with displeasure, came from ahead:
“I received news of the wedding banquet at the border yesterday. The groom was just a scholar who was disguised with Yan Shu's help, and he ran away with the young lady not long after the wedding. Now you suspect Yue’er based on just a zither and a few chess moves? Don’t you think that’s a bit too far-fetched?”
Nie Qingrong stopped in her tracks, her voice lowering: "If the girl no longer enjoys playing the zither or embroidering, that's fine too. But no matter how a person changes, their chess thinking, strategy, and skill will never be completely different. If it weren't for..."
Before Nie Qingyue could hear what came after the sentence "if it weren't for what followed," a rustling sound came from the bushes beside her.
"Who?" Nie Qingrui shouted in a deep voice, and the two men quickly approached.
Nie Qingyue was terrified and didn't know where to escape when a swift green shadow suddenly swung down from the tree, hooked her around the waist, and pulled her up into the tree. The person casually picked a leaf, crumpled it a couple of times, and threw it into the bushes. The wild cat that had made the noise jumped out of the bushes in pain and leaped in front of the Nie brothers.
The two stopped and frowned as they let the stray cat wander off.
Nie Qingrui turned to his second brother to confirm: "This is a one-time thing, after all, it's not a pleasant thing for Yue'er."
“…I know, if I hadn’t secretly taken her out to play when she was little, she wouldn’t have suffered like that. Even now, she still gets inexplicably panicked when she sees people with birthmarks on their faces.” Nie Qingrong was silent for a while, then looked at the back of the stray cat that had run away and smiled bitterly.
"Fortunately, back then, Father replaced all the servants in the manor who had scars, moles, or birthmarks on their faces, which allowed Yue'er to be born in peace. After Yue'er grew up, she completely forgot about it, but the habit remained without her even realizing it."
The eldest brother of the Nie family sighed and patted his shoulder: "Forget it, it's all in the past, don't think about it."
"...I'm just afraid of losing the girl again."
The sound of their footsteps faded into the distance.
Nie Qingyue listened quietly to the whole process, leaning against Yan Shu behind her without saying a word.
The tree was a lush, ancient tree, its branches spreading and intertwining. Yan Shu rested one hand behind his head against a sturdy, forked main branch, while his other arm encircled her to prevent her from falling if she moved. Two medical books were hanging askew on a small branch beside them.
She turned to look at Yan Shu, who had a calm expression. She felt even more helpless and lost than when she was about to be discovered by the Nie brothers. She felt suffocated and depressed.
"Does Madam have anything to say?" Yan Shu asked her, bowing his head.
Nie Qingyue thought for a moment, then shook her head slightly, seemingly exhausted and powerless even to breathe. He was bound to find out eventually, but the day had come so quickly that she hadn't been prepared at all.
"Then give me a quiet afternoon nap." Yan Shu chuckled lightly, pulled his hand out from behind her head and wrapped it around her, leaning his body against hers. His muffled voice nestled lazily in the crook of her neck: "There really isn't a quiet place in the Nie residence."
A few rays of sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves and fell on his handsome profile, casting a warm glow.
Nie Qingyue looked at Yan Shu, who was so close to her with his eyes closed as if he were sleeping peacefully. He wanted to smile, but when he grinned, his nose inexplicably felt sore.
In a private room on the third floor of Qingxinzhai.
When the waiter with the red birthmark on his face ran in, Nie Qingyue didn't even lift his eyelids.
"What kind of tea would you like, esteemed guests?" The waiter asked attentively, wiping the table clean.
An unusual silence fell over the dinner table. Nie Qingrong looked at Nie Qingrui, who in turn looked at Yan Shu. Yan Shu, somewhat bewildered, glanced up at the waiter and said, "...Mao Feng."
"Alright, may I ask what dishes you would like to order, sir?" The waiter's expression remained cheerful and happy.
...still silent.
"Stir-fried yam with goji berries and wood ear fungus, braised loofah with ginger juice, stir-fried black fungus with scallions, tofu with oyster sauce, plus the usual three vegetarian dishes." Nie Qingyue waited for a long time without anyone speaking, without even glancing at the wooden sign on the wall with the names of the dishes, calmly looking at the red birthmark on the waiter's face, and read out several dishes for autumn health preservation.
The waiter readily agreed and went to report the order.
The private room remained quiet, so quiet that Nie Qingyue could almost hear the sigh and bitter laugh in her heart.
Nie Qingrong turned to look at her with some surprise, but the eldest brother of the Nie family smiled happily.
This meal served as a farewell feast for Nie Qingrui and his sister. Border defense allowed no room for complacency; Nie Qingrui had only been in the city for half a month when he received orders to return to the frontier. Nie Qingrong's decision to hold the farewell banquet at Qingxinzhai was partly to accommodate her wishes.
Within the Nie family, only Miss Nie regularly eats vegetarian food due to health issues. However, most of the time, the servants in the mansion buy the food and deliver it to her room. Therefore, she is naturally the most familiar with the dishes served at vegetarian restaurants.
"Girl." During the meal, Nie Qingrong called out to her softly after a long silence.
"Second Brother, let's finish eating first. This is the eldest brother's special wine." Nie Qingyue's body stiffened slightly, his chopsticks holding the food paused, and then he forced a smile, a mixture of frankness and pleading, his mind already made up.
The second young master of the Nie family suspected her and tested her, ultimately out of concern for his younger sister's safety; she had absolutely no reason to feel wronged. Besides, the comfortable life she currently enjoyed, the pampering and love she received, were all thanks to her status as the youngest daughter of the Nie family.
Whether she could accept it or not, these things weren't really hers anyway. She could just eat this meal and then face it properly. Nie Qingyue comforted herself with a broad-minded attitude, but her hand holding the bowl remained stiff and cold.
What she had always feared and avoided wasn't actually losing the Nie family's love and the luxuries she enjoyed. Nie Qingyue turned to look at Yan Shu, who was quietly eating beside her. Yan Shu paused in his eating, then picked up a piece of wood ear fungus from her plate.
While quietly picking at the wood ear mushrooms in her bowl, Nie Qingyue unconsciously sniffed.
What she wanted was far more than just an answer from the Nie family.
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Chapter 30 - This time we're really going to run (Part 2).
Today is the fifteenth, and Nie Anru accompanied his wife to the ancient temple in the west of the city to worship Buddha.
Not long after the meal, the eldest brother of the Nie family left with the soldiers who had come to greet him. Now, only Yan Shu and Nie Qingrong were in the main hall of the Nie residence. Meanwhile, Nie Qingyue was in her boudoir packing bags that she might need.
There weren't many things: a few sets of coarse cloth clothes, a few strings of copper coins, and a smooth, translucent horn comb.
The comb was given to her by Yan Shu along with the cloth clothes when they first met this year. The comb body is shaped like a crucian carp, with the fins and tail exquisitely carved. A small hole is finely chiseled into the fish's head as an eye. It is dressed in red netting, which makes the light and transparent cow-shaped color stand out.
Nie Qingyue looked down and checked the contents of her bag again. These were the only things she wanted to take with her and could take with a clear conscience, if Nie Qingrong, who knew the truth, would still allow her to leave.
She slowly walked out, clutching her small bundle. The two people at the deep red round wooden table were both taken aback when they saw her like this.
"...So you're leaving in such a hurry?" Nie Qingrong's lips moved as she squeezed out a sentence with considerable difficulty, her tone unexpectedly gentle.
Nie Qingyue sat down at the table, nodded without speaking, waiting for Nie Qingrong's questioning, her fingers tightly twisting the knot of the cloth bundle.
Nie Qingrong remained silent for a long time before asking, holding her breath, "...Will you come back?"
"Huh?" she wondered, but her tone remained calm. "Why did you come back?" The fact that Nie Qingrong wasn't pursuing the matter, wasn't questioning her, and was tacitly accepting her departure was already her biggest surprise and good fortune. If she were to come back again, and Nie Qingrong were to question her one day, her life would probably be in more danger than just danger.
When Nie Qingrong heard her question, she suddenly couldn't speak.
"I'm leaving now, thank you for taking care of me." She suppressed a slight reluctance, stood up, and nodded slightly. Although she was puzzled by Nie Qingrong's sudden change in expression, she still picked up the small cloth bag in her arms and turned around.
She walked slowly, but there was no sound of footsteps behind her. The knot in her heart seemed to grow heavier, and Nie Qingyue felt her breathing become heavy, as if a thousand-pound boulder was weighing down on her feet.
However, she couldn't help herself and stopped to glance back at Yan Shu. Yan Shu, who had been silent all along, remained seated at the table, his gaze meeting hers, calm and unwavering, even the way he held his teacup remained unchanged.
There was an awkward and subtly embarrassing atmosphere.
Nie Qingyue turned her face away and continued walking, seemingly unaffected, her fingers gripping the knot of the cloth bag tightly, her nails digging deep into the flesh of her palms.
Just as Nie Qingyue came out of the main hall, walked through most of the garden, and was about to reach the gate, the second young master of the Nie family dragged Yan Shu and chased after her.
She turned around, but Nie Qingrong, who had been staring at her back, quickly turned to Yan Shu, her usually languid voice now tinged with exasperation and disbelief: "You're really so comfortable letting her go alone?!"
Yan Shu raised an eyebrow without saying a word, then snatched the bundle from Nie Qingyue's hand and pulled her hand to walk outside.
Nie Qingyue struggled twice, but still couldn't break free.
The three of them walked to the street corner in a strange, tense atmosphere.
The bustling crowds and incessant hawking noises on the street couldn't penetrate Nie Qingyue's mind and senses, which were completely filled with a certain negative emotion.
"That's enough." She stopped and looked down at her cloth shoes. In the upper left corner of her gaze were Yan Shu's yellow wooden clogs, which were stained with a little mud and dust, and in the upper right corner were Nie Qingrong's exquisitely crafted auspicious cloud soft boots.
Not long after he finished speaking, the wooden clogs disappeared, leaving only the white soft boots moving slightly forward.
Nie Qingrong stared at the increasingly calm and indifferent expression on her face, and suddenly became cautious: "Girl, are you really... not coming back?"
She shook her head vigorously, the familiar and affectionate terms of address filtering through her ears, her body suddenly froze, and her expression changed repeatedly.
Seeing her like this, Nie Qingrong seemed flustered and hurriedly explained something in her ear. She only vaguely heard a few fragmented words like "sorry," "wronged," and "doubt." Even when Nie Qingrong grabbed her arm and kept asking her questions, she just nodded haphazardly, a sense of powerless absurdity rising in her heart.
So that's how it is... They tried so hard to maintain a peaceful and tranquil life, but to no avail. Driven to the brink with no way out, they abandoned everything, and the situation quickly changed.
But what meaning does this change have for her now? Whether Nie Qingrong knows or misunderstands, this is never what she truly cares about.
She looked up at the strangers rushing past her, feeling a heavy, uncomfortable tightness in her throat as she breathed and swallowed.
Nie Qingrong gradually relaxed the force on her hand, and Nie Qingyue shook off and broke free, then turned around.
On the vast street, the moment she took a step, she felt surrounded by unfamiliar emptiness, as if no direction was right. She could almost feel the gaze of the second young master of the Nie family. Nie Qingyue straightened her back and walked all the way to the street corner before turning into a corner of the city wall and then lowering her head to stop.
The streets were still bustling with people.
She looked at her slightly dirty white cloth shoes stepping on the rough, worn-out cobblestones of the street, her vision blurring, the figures of people coming towards her overlapping and indistinct. She blinked hard twice and wiped her eyes with her hand, and her vision cleared again, the thin layer of moisture on the back of her hand quickly evaporating.
The late summer sun, transitioning into autumn, shone on her head, giving her a slightly tipsy feeling, but the wind that blew by carried a hint of coolness.
Suddenly, a gruff voice shouted from ahead, "Watch where you're going!" A giant wine vat, almost as tall as a person, was placed diagonally on the cart, completely obscuring the body of the person pushing it. The cart was being pushed very fast, with wine spilling out of the unsealed vat along the way.
Nie Qingyue didn't have time to go far. She stepped aside slightly, intending to brush past the car, but the wooden wheels hit a pebble on the road, and the car spun upwards, tilting towards her. She blinked and stood still without dodging.
The next moment, I felt a tightness in my wrist, and a dark blue color carrying a light, sweet fragrance swept into my vision.
"Crash!" The huge wine vat tilted and overturned, falling to the ground. Amidst the gasps of passersby, the vat shattered with a crash, and transparent wine foam flew up along with the porcelain shards. The rich aroma of wine filled the air in front of the city gate, intoxicating everyone.
Nie Qingyue leaned against the osmanthus tree in the corner of the city wall, his gaze only reaching past the shoulder of the person pressed against him, looking at the broken jar of wine and the expressions of the passersby watching the spectacle.
The hands around her waist tightened inch by inch. She turned her eyes slightly and looked away. In that instant, she saw those dark, lustrous eyes very close to her, and she unconsciously held her breath.
The delicate, sweet scent of herbs completely masked the rich aroma of wine and osmanthus in the air. A gentle breeze swept by, silencing the surrounding noise and leaving only tranquility.
The moisture that had been lingering in her eyes quickly gathered and then dissipated, and suddenly tears streamed down her face.
"You have so little confidence in me?" A clear male voice sounded softly in her ear, as if talking to himself. He lowered his eyes and looked at her carefully, his calloused fingers gently wiping the corner of her eye.