Разные пути ведут к одной и той же цели (жениться на человеке равного социального положения)

Глава 26

Tie Cuihua said in great surprise, "I originally thought you were with Tian Shu Palace—but I didn't expect you to be someone of Young Master Yin. Since it is Young Master Youlong Tian Palace who has come, they will probably hand you over obediently. You should be able to leave now."

“…That’s not necessarily true.” I said helplessly. “I would rather it were people from Tian Shu Palace who came.”

"Young Master Qing, what makes you say such a thing?" Tie Cuihua was clearly puzzled.

"Just watch and see."

Not long after I finished speaking, a figure swept over from a distance. It was the same person who had fought me on Tian Shu Peak that day. It was because I was trying to dodge his sword that I was slashed from behind.

The man stopped on a tree by the Yinliu River, cupped his hands in a polite gesture, and said, "I wonder who Young Master Yin's... wife is. I think there must be some misunderstanding."

Yin Liuchuan, who had been looking lazy and irritating, narrowed his eyes when he saw the man, and after a while, he finally spoke, "Are you the one from Ailao Mountain who used the fast sword at the Qishan martial arts competition?"

The man smiled and said, "Young Palace Master has a good memory. It is indeed me, Zheng Wuliang."

I really don't understand why Zheng Wuliang, a person from the southwest corner, would be associated with the Taihang Mountains in the northeast. However, he is a lone wolf, so he probably participated in the siege of Tian Shu Palace out of personal grudges.

Sure enough, Yin Liuchuan immediately became excited, like a wolf spotting its prey. He looked at Zheng Wuliang and laughed, "So it was you who injured Qing Guyi and kidnapped her?" Now, with a new source of amusement, he's changed his address for me from "little lady" to "Qing Guyi."

Zheng Wuliang clearly didn't want to provoke the young master of Youlong Heavenly Palace, so he quickly spoke up: "Young Master Yin, is there really something going on here—"

"So you deliberately lost to me in Qishan, didn't you? Very well, let's have another match." With that, he drew the sword from his waist.

"This..." Tie Cuihua was speechless.

I smiled indifferently, not expecting him to remember that he came here to save me after seeing Zheng Wuliang.

He does everything for his own pleasure.

...

Losing interest in watching any longer, I turned and walked towards the tent, when I heard Tie Cuihua say behind me, "Why don't you take this opportunity to escape?"

"What's the point of running away? You won't do anything to me. I'd better heal my injuries first."

That's right. I was slashed and seriously injured while I still had a high fever. I'm very weak now and have neither the strength nor the will to escape.

Back in my tent, I snuggled up and went to sleep.

I woke up a few times in the middle of the night, but I was too lazy to open my eyes and just kept sleeping. I slept like a pig all day, and finally woke up because I was hungry. I lifted the covers and sat up, and saw Yin Liuchuan sitting at the table.

In the dimly lit tent, there was only a lamp on the table. He was sitting lazily under the yellowish light, lost in thought. When he saw me get up, he smiled and said, "Oh, my little wife, you've finally woken up. Your husband has been waiting for you for so long."

"I'm truly sorry, where is Zheng Wuliang?"

Yin Liuchuan turned his head to the side, propped his forehead with his hand, and said indifferently, "Killed him." His tone was as if he had crushed an ant.

"Oh, so you've done Qingjiu a favor. You've come to take me away?"

“Of course, come back to Youlong Heaven Palace with me, it’s not so noisy there.”

"I accepted the order from Tian Shu Palace, so I have to do things for them. Thank you for your kindness, Young Palace Master."

Yin Liuchuan raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment, "Then I'll stay too. Maybe I can discover something fun."

I didn't reply, nor did I mention that I was starving. I stood up, looking for my outer garment, but couldn't find it. Instead, I saw a gray women's robe, which must have been Tie Cuihua's. As I put the robe on, I asked, "You didn't kill Tie—the woman with a scar on her forehead in this tent, did you?"

Yin Liuchuan stood up. "That woman wisely left, so I didn't make a move."

I breathed a sigh of relief, found my sword in the corner, nodded to Yin Liuchuan, and said, "Let's go."

Stepping out of the tent, I saw a crescent moon hanging over the mountains in the boundless night sky, like a bow without an arrow, startling the mountain birds, which cried out in the mountain streams.

There was no one around, only tents standing in the dark valley like eerie ghosts, as if they had accepted that I had left. However, I noticed that there were at least fifty fewer tents than I had seen during the day. I squinted and then turned my head away, pretending not to see them.

Zheng Wuliang's death was a major loss for them, but they were powerless to do anything about the young master of Youlong Heavenly Palace's actions, and now they had no choice but to watch Yin Liuchuan take me away.

We hadn't gone far when Young Master Yin, annoyed by my slow pace, scooped me up and swept me up the mountain. Because of my bent body, the wound on my back reopened, and I bit my lip, remaining silent.

The Tian Shu Palace was brightly lit, indicating that it was under guard. As we entered the main hall, we encountered a group of elders and four protectors coming out, suggesting that they had just finished an emergency meeting. Sure enough, Qing Jiu was inside.

The man in the lotus-green robe looked tired. He rubbed his temples with his eyes slightly closed. He glanced at us and paused for a moment before standing up. He suddenly stared at my face and turned to instruct his servant, "Quickly, go and brew a pot of ginger tea."

I was starving and freezing. The wound on my back seemed to have scabbed over because of the blood clots, so I didn't care about it for the time being. So I huddled in a corner, curled up in a chair, waiting for ginger tea, and watched Qing Jiu and Yin Liuchuan talk and talk, feeling bored.

Not long after, the ginger tea arrived. I mixed it with some cold water and drank half a pot, which finally warmed me up a lot. At this moment, Young Master Yin left. I thought that after I told Qing Jiu about the situation of infiltrating the enemy's territory, I would go to the kitchen to steal some food.

Before I could even lift my head, a plate of pastries appeared in front of me. They were soft and fluffy, and looked delicious.

The person holding the plate spoke in a gentle voice, "You look so pale. Have you been kidnapped for so long and haven't been given anything to eat?"

Thirty-five cups of reed wine

Reed wine, even a yellow sheep won't taste the mutton's odor; reed wine fills a bushel. A thousand cups won't knock you down; even a dog would get drunk from such filth.

...

As I ate the pastries one by one from the plate, I said, "So, obviously they knew I would come back and tell you the location of that valley, and then you sent people to ambush and launch a surprise attack. In fact, they were the ones ambushing you."

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind," Qingjiu chuckled.

“So you’re going to be the bird catcher. I’m just passing on the message. You know better than I how to do it,” he said, quickly swallowing the last few pieces of pastry. “You can plan it out slowly. I’m going to sleep.”

Before I even stepped out of the hall, Qingjiu called out to me. I turned around and asked, "What is it?"

Qingjiu lowered her head, pursed her lips, and turned to look directly at me. "I just returned to the palace and couldn't rescue you in time, I'm sorry—"

"It's nothing!" I suddenly interrupted him, afraid of hearing the next two words, "We both know I'll be fine, and we both know that if you send someone, you definitely can't save me, right?" I smiled at him.

Qingjiu opened his mouth, but before he could speak, I immediately said, "I'm so sleepy, I'm going to sleep now. Qinggong—Qingjiu, you should rest early too."

I don't know what I was trying to hide from, but I practically fled for my life.

After returning to my room, I didn't want to deal with the troublesome wound anymore, so I went straight to bed, but it took me a long time to fall asleep.

I was sleeping soundly, but it seems that turning over aggravated my wound, and I woke up in pain.

The warm, yellow sunlight streamed through the window cracks, revealing the freely floating dust particles; it must have been the next morning.

I sat up, took off my clothes, and tried to pull on the bandage. I shuddered in pain because the flesh was stuck to the bandage.

I mustered up the courage to try a few times, but I couldn't help feeling the pain, and the bandage ended up sticking to my back.

Just as I was having an internal struggle, I heard the sound of a door being pushed open behind me. I quickly called out, "Hua Mei, come quick, help me tear off this bandage. I'm too scared to do it!"

There was no movement behind me for a long time, so I turned around and saw a man.

The warm sunlight outside shone on his snow-white robes, making the intricately embroidered dragons on the hem seem ready to take flight in the golden light. A rare look of astonishment appeared on Yin Liuchuan's usually calm face, but it quickly turned into amusement as he narrowed his eyes and moved his gaze down my face.

My mind went blank for a second, and I felt like I was about to explode. With that force, my hand holding the bandage yanked it off without my noticing, and the bandage, along with the skin and flesh, was ripped off.

As a result, I let out a heart-wrenching scream not because my body had been seen naked, but because of the pain.

I felt like my ears were about to be deafened by that pig-like scream. Although I really wanted to praise my powerful voice, the excruciating pain, coupled with the large amount of blood flowing from the wound on my back, left me completely exhausted. I didn't even have time to put on my clothes before collapsing onto the bed, half-lying on my side, without protecting my chest and back.

To be honest, as a tough girl, I felt ashamed and indignant, but I figured if I bled a little more, I would faint and then I wouldn't have to worry about what happened next.

Young Master Yin was not at all reserved. He strolled over leisurely, sat on the edge of the bed, and, oblivious to the danger, touched the wound on my back. Looking at the blood on his hand, he lazily said, "Tsk tsk, the little lady is quite badly injured."

The stimulation from being poked in the wound brought me back to my senses. I couldn't even faint for a moment, so I gritted my teeth and said, "Young Master Yin, please go out and find Hua Mei. Close the door behind you, thank you."

“I can bandage wounds too, and besides, I’m the only one who can take care of my wife’s health.” Yin Liuchuan looked down at me with a smile, showing no intention of leaving.

Looking at that incredibly irritating face so close to my face, I really wanted to spit a mouthful of dirty blood on it.

"Yin Liuchuan, don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other? You'd better come out with me now, or else I'll..."

"—So what?" Yin Liuchuan looked at me without any restraint and raised an eyebrow as he asked.

I really wanted to imitate Li Yiyao and yell "Watch out, I'll rip that thing off you and throw it in your face!" after being teased. I couldn't help but imagine myself doing such a feat, but it made me unable to say it at all. I decided to stop talking nonsense and instead forced myself to pull the blanket over myself to cover myself up.

Just as I stretched out my arms, another person walked in through the door. I looked up and saw that it was Hua Mei this time, but unfortunately she was too late.

Hua Mei turned around and immediately froze on the spot, her eyes wide. She looked at Yin Liuchuan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his lewd hands on my naked back, and at me, who was pale and trying to reach the blanket. Before I could even speak, she scolded me angrily, "Yin Liuchuan, what have you done to Gu Yi!" This was the first time that Hua Mei, as a protector of Tian Shu Palace, had called Yin Liuchuan by his name.

"Hua Mei, this is a misunderstanding..." I said weakly.

"Gu Yi, you don't need to say anything more. Your sister Hua Mei will avenge you." Hua Mei, the eldest sister, said righteously, continuing to glare at Yin Liuchuan.

Damn it, my reputation as a virtuous young woman is ruined just like that...

Yin Liuchuan, that scoundrel, was clearly eager to stir up trouble. He lazily replied, "What I did to my little lady is none of your business."

My good friend Hua Mei immediately got angry. She took out the whip from her waist, intending to lash out, but then hesitated, afraid of hurting me. She glared at Yin Liuchuan and said, "I never expected that the young master of the dignified Youlong Heavenly Palace would be such a shameless lecher. Do you dare to come down?"

Yin Liuchuan sneered disdainfully, "You're not qualified to make me come down."

Hua Mei's face turned pale with anger, and her hand holding the whip trembled. Taking advantage of this moment, I finally buried myself under the covers. Before I could explain, a cold voice came from outside the door.

"—Then, if I were included, would I be qualified to 'invite' Young Master Yin down?" Bai Ya, with a cold expression, walked in, tightly gripping the iron-bone fan in his hand.

This time, my already pale face turned completely white. Although I was touched by their friendship, I really didn't have the strength to speak and explain my innocence. Before I could even roll my eyes, I saw Qianlou walk in.

Qianlou glanced at Yin Liuchuan with disdain, then stopped Hua Mei and Bai Ya, who were itching to make a move, with a gesture of his hand, "...Don't be impulsive, don't forget your identities."

Before I could even give Qianlou a thumbs up in my heart, he added, "We'll tell our lord about this, and he'll make his own decision and give Miss Guyi justice."

...Tell your master, my second concubine! Give me justice! Heavens, send down a bolt of lightning to knock me unconscious!

I rolled my eyes a few times, realizing once again that learning such a profound skill as voluntary fainting required great potential and a great stroke of luck. Just as I was persevering, a cold purple hue appeared in my peripheral vision.

My mood quickly escalated from feeling dizzy to wanting to die.

Fortunately, I had already wrapped myself in the blankets by then, so Qingjiu only saw Yin Liuchuan sitting by my bedside, which did not trigger any endless imagination.

Seeing me lying on the bed, barely alive, Qingjiu frowned almost imperceptibly and asked the three protectors, "...What's wrong?"

Hua Mei was about to speak when she was met with my pleading gaze. She hesitated for a moment, then gave me a look of "sympathy" and "reassurance," before finally gritting her teeth and saying, "Reporting to my lord, we have only come to visit Guyi. Hua Mei will take her leave now."

After giving Yin Liuchuan a quick, discreet glance, Hua Mei and Bai Ya Qianlou withdrew.

The fun was over, and Yin Liuchuan leaned down and whispered in my ear, "My little lady, take good care of your injuries." Then he got up and left without looking back.

Thinking that this matter was finally over, I didn't want to move and planned to just lie there. But then I heard footsteps in the room, and the person was walking towards me.

I thought that bastard Yin Liuchuan had returned again. I rolled out of bed, ready to curse him, but I met a pair of eyes that were dim and shimmering.

I chuckled dryly, "Palace Mistress Qing, you haven't left yet?"

Qingjiu raised an eyebrow, and I immediately changed my address, "...Hello, Brother Qingjiu."

Only then did he raise the corners of his mouth to smile, reaching out to touch my head, "What's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night? Why do you look so pale—" The sound of flowing water and splashing jade stopped abruptly, and Qing Jiu frowned, "...Why do you smell of blood?"

"It's me—" Before I could say more than a few words, a pair of slender and strong hands had already placed on my shoulders and pulled the entire quilt down.