Chapter 35 Part 2

 

Xuyu was filled with gratitude and thanked her repeatedly.

Wei Yinniang shook her head: “I didn’t do anything, I just did the best I could. Sister, you finally found me here, but I’m really incompetent and can’t help you at all.”

“No, I discovered a lot of things. Just to find you, I am already satisfied and very happy!”

Xuyu said sincerely, “Sister, after I sent the painting a few days ago, I never heard from you. I thought I had found the wrong person, or that you didn’t want to see me anymore. I was really disappointed and sad.”

Wei Yinniang hurriedly shook her head.

“Knowing that you’ve returned, and that you still willing to recognize me, how can I not want to see you? The first time I saw the painting you sent, I already guessed it was you. It’s not that I deliberately wanted you to wait for a long time, but I have something else to do…”

She hesitated for a moment, then looked at Xuyu cautiously: “Sister, do you still remember the son of Crown Prince Jingsheng?”

How could Xuyu forget?

“I’m sorry, Sister. I was too ignorant at that time. If I had let you go, you and my Brother Yan would have been together a long time ago.”

She said softly.

Her cousin Li Yan, who was very kind to her, must have died in the bloodbath after the rebellion was quelled. Now his bones have been buried in the mud, lying in the lonely underworld.

At that time, she always called him Brother Yan. He was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, gifted with both intelligence and skill in both literature and martial arts. He could burn incense and tune the zither, and was also good at riding and archery. Her Brother Yan was the most elegant and gentle boy in the world.

Xuyu still remembered that once she secretly saw him sitting in front of the window, holding an eyebrow brush, dipping it in Persian eyebrow ink, and personally drawing eyebrows for her sister.

Thinking back now, it must have been such a beautiful and quiet spring afternoon.

Unfortunately, at that time, she knew nothing. She burst in, startling Brother Yan so much that the ink brush in his hand dropped to the floor, while her older sister blushed furiously, her face turning as red as a lotus in envy.

For some people, going to the underworld together may be better than being separated by the Yin and Yang and missing each other for the rest of their lives.

Wei Yinniang fixed her eyes on her face and said, “Sister, I happen to have another old friend of yours here. I wonder if you would like to meet him.”

Xuyu was slightly startled, and met her gaze. When their eyes met, at that moment, she seemed to understand something, and her heartbeat immediately accelerated.

“Who is it?” she asked, her voice slightly tense.

“Is it Brother Yan?”

Wei Yinniang stood up from her seat, walked in front of her, and knelt respectfully again.

“Yes, he is not dead. He just came to Chang’an recently and is here with me. I did not tell the princess about this, and I invited him here. Please forgive me!”

Xuyu was so excited that she stood up and held Wei Yinniang’s hand.

“Where is he? Let him out!”

After she finished speaking, she remembered something and quickly turned her head to look towards the door of the side room that Wei Yinniang had just walked out of.

Sure enough, a figure slowly walked out from behind the door and stopped in front of her.

This was a young man with a jade-like face. His eyes were bright as he stared at Xuyu, smiling and softly calling out her name: “Hao’er!”

The memories of her childhood suddenly came flooding back like a tide in the rain.

She ran to him, threw herself into his arms, and called out “Brother Yan” in a tearful voice. The tears that had just stopped fell again.

Li Yan hugged her gently, patted her back soothingly, and told her not to cry.

Xuyu didn’t care and just leaned her face on his shoulder, closed her eyes and cried. After a moment, she came to her senses, raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, and looked at him.

When he came out just now, she noticed that he was walking unsteadily. Now, she saw that his face was pale and he looked quite haggard. Not only that, there was a scar in the middle of his brow bone, which looked quite fresh, as if he had been recently cut by a sharp blade like a sword.

“Brother Yan! What happened to you? Who hurt you like this?!”

She was surprised and heartbroken. She held him and, together with Wei Yinniang who had come over, helped him to the bedside.

Li Yan sat down slowly, pointed at one of his legs, and said with a smile: “Nothing serious. I just got injured accidentally a few months ago. It was almost healed, but because I was in a hurry to go to the capital, I was careless on the road, and since the weather was getting hot, the injury flared up again.”

“Have you called the imperial doctor? The Imperial Medical Bureau can treat this external injury—”

She suddenly realized and stopped talking.

In her moment of panic, she blurted out the words from the past, forgetting his current identity.

He was no longer the imperial grandson of the past.

Ever since Crown Prince Jingsheng took his own life after failing to force the emperor to abdicate, and her father ascended the throne as emperor, he was destined to never see the light of day and became a man who could only live in the dark night.

She shut her mouth in panic and looked at Li Yan uneasily. The strong feeling of guilt she had towards Yinniang tonight came over her again.

Li Yan smiled, gently squeezed her hand as if to comfort her, and motioned for her to sit next to him.

“I’m fine. Your sister has already found a good doctor to check on me. I will be fine again after a few days of rest. The reason why she didn’t dare to ask you to come a few days ago was because my identity is not fit to see the light of day, and she didn’t know whether it was appropriate to let you know, so she hesitated for a long time. I didn’t intend to come out to meet you just now, for fear of scaring you…”

Xuyu felt warm in her heart, and immediately grabbed his sleeve, shaking her head vigorously: “I’m so happy to know that you are fine! Really!”

Li Yan touched her head lovingly and teased in a low voice: “Why are you still the same as when you were a child!” Then he looked her up and down and said: “Hao’er, I heard everything you and your elder sister said just now. You returned to Chang’an, but you didn’t recognize your father, the emperor, immediately. Do you have any reason?”

Before Xuyu could answer, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor outside the door and someone was knocking on the door.

Yinniang, who had been watching them quietly, immediately went out and came back quickly, saying to Li Yan: “The Jinwu Guards are coming this way! I’m afraid it’s not safe here! They have arranged an escape route! Waiting for you downstairs! Hurry up!”

After Li Yan arrived a few days ago, in order to avoid being seen, the guards who accompanied him all settled down nearby as merchants and porters.

Li Yan’s expression tensed slightly. He turned to look at the surprised Xuyu, nodded to her, and then took the cloak handed to him by Yinniang. He turned around and was about to leave when suddenly a man dressed as a peddler rushed in from outside and reported to Li Yan: “Master! It’s bad! We can’t leave! It seems our whereabouts has been exposed, and they are specifically coming for you tonight! The people who just arrived are not ordinary Jinwu Guards, but people from Luwu Division! A strict curfew has been ordered on this lane temporarily! Not only that, the entire Pingkang lane has been surrounded! The spies said that there is a crossbowman every ten steps outside the wall, and they have begun searching every house!”

As soon as he finished speaking, loud gong sounds rang out on the street outside. The Lane Principal was leading his men to clear the street. As they walked, they kept shouting, “We have been ordered to arrest the criminal! Everyone, no matter what happened, return home immediately! Close all shops! Wait for inspection! Anyone who disobeys orders or dares to interfere with official business will be considered as their accomplice and punish together!”

Li Yan walked to the window, slightly opened a corner, and looked down. There were torches around the intersection of the street downstairs, and from a distance, it looked like countless sparks moving quickly on the ground.

Passersby who were still outside were caught off guard by this accident and scattered in panic. The guests who were reveling in brothels and taverns were even more disappointed. Some kept complaining, and some even cursed. But everyone in the city knew about Luwu Division’s power. They were the emperor’s minion, and they were on official business tonight. Whoever dared to disobey would be arrested and thrown into prison, and he would not be able to get out until he was severely punished.

Soon, the originally bustling streets became deserted, every household closed their doors, and the only people left on the streets were the patrolling and guarding Jinwu Guards and cavalrymen.

Li Yan closed the window and turned to ask, “Who is leading the Luwu Division tonight?”

“The Pei guy came in person!”

He looked solemn and silent when another man rushed in from outside. He was a man dressed as a stable hand and said anxiously, “Master, the people from Luwu Division will come here to check soon! We can’t stay here, it’s too dangerous! Why don’t we split up? I’ll take Silang, Liulang, Shiwulang and the others to force our way in, pretending to be you and lead their people away. They want to capture people alive, so if we get out, we will be able to hold them off for a while!”

He turned to the peddler and said, “You and Sanlang and Qilang protect Master and wait for an opportunity to get to the canal crossing in the northwest corner of the lane as soon as possible. We have our own people there. Get on the canal boat, avoid inspection, and find a chance to leave the city again!”

“No! This is too risky! What if both sides can’t escape? Pei Er is not someone you can easily deal with! Master’s leg injury is not light, and it’s hard for him to even walk. If we’re caught up, how can he run fast?”

Before they could make a decision, they heard faint voices talking outside the wall, as if a group of people were walking towards them.

“…Alas! Alas! I’ve already said that my girl who lives here has been bought out by a distinguished guest! How could there be any criminal hiding here? If you want to investigate, go to the other courtyard. I will take you there myself! There is really nothing wrong here! I promise you, don’t scare my girl——”

It was the voice of dissuasion from the brothel madam here named Jin Xianglan.

This brothel madam had no idea that Wei Yinniang had hidden a wounded person here a few days ago. She was just afraid of offending the distinguished guest who bought Yumian, so she followed and tried her best to dissuade them.

The faces of several people in the room changed and they looked at each other.

They didn’t expect people to arrive so quickly.

Outside, Liu Bo, growing increasingly frustrated by the brothel madam’s pestering, angrily ordered his men to grab her and toss her aside. Ignoring her loud protests, he led his group into this secluded spot, hidden within the bustle.

As usual, he first blocked all the exits and checked the courtyard, not even leaving out a single corner. Finding nothing suspicious, he ascended the stairs and arrived at the corridor of the upper floor.

There was light coming through the window, but the door was tightly closed. He knocked a few times but heard no response, so he pushed it open and led people through an empty outer room and an inner corridor. He checked carefully as he passed by, and finally entered an inner room that looked like a bedroom.

In front of him was a curtain that was quietly hanging low. Liu Bo opened it and looked up to see a beautiful woman in spring clothes lying on a bed opposite him. She had a charming appearance and a moving posture. In front of a couch opposite the beautiful woman, someone was holding a brush and drawing a portrait on paper with his back to Liu Bo. He looked like a painter.

The two of them, one posing and the other painting, were concentrating fully and free of distraction, until Liu Bo lifted the curtain and barged in. The beautiful woman lying on the bed was startled, let out a light cry, and sat up quickly.

“Jinwu Guards are conducting a routine inspection! Everyone, stand up! Stand aside!”

Liu Bo shouted loudly.

The painter, brush in hand, turned around and looked over.

Liu Bo’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It’s you? Why are you here?!”

He recognized him at a glance. This person was actually the young master Ye whom he had sent to the inn for Chief Pei some time ago!

Previous     TOC     Next