Chapter 210: Two hundred and seventeen, each has surprises

Two hundred and seventeen, each has surprises.

No way, the gentleman also guards against craftsman's work. Two hundred and seventeen, each has surprises. The door of the main room in the plum forest courtyard was covered again, and the door lock was tightly closed.

As a certain footstep went away, the courtyard returned to silence.

Inside the main room with dim light and tightly closed doors.

Dust rippled quietly in the air and hadn't fallen.

On an eight-immortal table covered with dust-proof cloth, besides the extra envelopes, official seals, official robes, and other items, there was also a pot of orchid hanging with dew placed on the table, I don't know when it was moved from the windowsill.

The cymbidium faced the tightly closed door in front of the eight-immortal table quietly.

Everything returned to loneliness and silence.

And the gray young figure in the distance who put down the bundle and left alone walked towards Mount Dagu without looking back.

"How is the person? Is there any sign of waking up yet?"

In a certain official residence, inside a courtyard guarded by heavy troops, the door was pushed open from the outside, and a serious voice came into the room.

Beside the bed in the room where the unconscious prisoner lay, several young constables on guard stood up one after another and made way.

Yan Liulang held the hilt of his sword, looking solemn, and walked in from outside.

The young constables surrounded him, talking all at once:

"Not yet, Brother Six."

"Brother Six, since this demoness suddenly vomited blood and passed out last time, we've tried every method, but there's been no movement until now. Is it already beyond help?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Before, when she was on the verge of death and bedridden for half a month, she was saved by Secretary Xie. Now she just vomited a mouthful of blood. It's not a big problem, don't give random ideas."

Yan Liulang frowned slightly and scolded his subordinates.

Not beside Ouyang Rong, Yan Liulang's style seemed to have changed into another person, appearing serious, handling official business, making his subordinates fearful and respectful.

As for the reason for the change, it might be that his seniority had subtly changed from the "Little" in Ouyang Rong's mouth.

After asking the young constables about the patient's condition, Yan Liulang frowned, dismissed everyone, and went to the courtyard to keep watch.

In the room, only two remained.

Yan Liulang stood at the head of the bed, looking down at the dying Xie Xiao Niangzi Yuzhi Fairy on the sickbed.

The hand on the hilt rubbed and gripped, then loosened.

It seemed he had fallen into a brief hesitation.

Yan Liulang glanced out the window and nodded lightly:

"Long nights have many dreams. Better to let Miss Xie know. It seems this matter still needs Miss Xie to handle. The longer it drags on, the greater the risk. What if this demoness suspect dies... sigh."

He looked melancholy, silently reached into his bosom, and instead took out a pale green jade pendant, lowering his head and muttering:

"Miss Xie also instructed before leaving that if there's any emergency or change here, I should immediately smash this communication jade pendant injected with a little of her spiritual energy, which can make her sense it from thousands of miles away and return quickly..."

I don't know how long passed.

At the head of the bed where the Xie Xiao Niangzi Yuzhi Fairy was unconscious, the blue-clothed constable's figure disappeared, and several young constables returned to keep watch.

On the tea table beside the bed, I don't know when, there was a small pile of broken jade.

Attracting the sharp-eyed constable to turn his head curiously.

I only saw that the jade pendant fragments on the tea table were white in color.

The pale green had faded away.

This official ship sailing from Longcheng County, Jiangzhou, was not very conspicuous on the Xunyang River section where merchant ships were endless.

At least it wasn't as eye-catching as the magnificent fleet carrying the Luoyang envoys not long ago.

On the river with waves sometimes fast and sometimes slow, ships occasionally brushed past the official ship, attracting some passersby's gazes, at most just causing a few mutters guessing the official rank of the ship's owner.

These mutters were quickly blown away in the noisy river wind.

Travel in this era was actually very boring and dull, and this was still under the condition of the most convenient water transport. If it were land, walking for months or half a year was the norm.

On the river, the thin morning mist had just been blown away by the morning wind, and the brand-new morning sun of the morning had just risen. On the deck at the bow, a group of boatmen gathered to slack off, chatting and farting.

An old boatman vividly told the story of the eighteen concubines of a certain frontier official fighting for favor on the ship when he was a boatman on the ship of a frontier official leaving office to return to the capital years ago.

Other boatmen with dark skin and rough skin blown by the river wind listened with great relish.

Occasionally, a few bored Meilu Garden maids and guards and followers passing by the deck also stopped to blow the wind, looking at the river scenery without squinting, and secretly pricked up their ears to collect gossip.

But at this time, a door-pushing sound came from a main cabin not far away.

The boatmen, maids, and guards who gathered to slack off seemed to have received some signal, their expressions became serious, and they turned and left without a word, dispersing and returning to their respective posts.

They didn't even look at the position where the door-opening sound came from, as if they were very familiar with this signal.

Sure enough, after a while, the familiar figure of the "young magistrate" appeared on the deck and walked towards the bow.

The young magistrate was wearing a long sword at his waist, circled the ship, his expression indifferent, and he was silent.

This appearance of "others stay away" made the boatmen and maids and guards around him dare not go up to talk. Everyone buried their heads in their own work, light-handed and light-footed, as if afraid that a big movement would attract the side-glance of this young and handsome official.

The official ship set off from Longcheng County and had been sailing for more than two days.

Everyone on the ship discovered coincidentally that this magistrate who asked for leave to return to his hometown seemed to be in a bad mood, and I don't know if it was because of seasickness.

These two days, the words he said together didn't exceed ten sentences.

And this magistrate spent most of his time in the main cabin, not coming out, as if immersed in books.

Only twice a day, morning and evening, would he walk out the door, patrol the ship with a straight face, and then bring some food back to the room.

Regarding this, no one dared to go up and disturb him.

Even Miss Ye, who was heard to be the personal maid of this magistrate, couldn't enter the main cabin even once.

Only during the gap when the magistrate went out to patrol twice a day, morning and evening, could she take the opportunity of delivering food to ask about his well-being and talk a few words.

But this magistrate was also sparing of words regarding this.

With the male master in such a state, the atmosphere on the whole ship was naturally quite serious.

It was the same right now.

I only saw the magistrate wearing the official robes that everyone was familiar with, patrolling the official ship with a straight face, standing at the bow to blow the river wind for a while, and then his figure disappeared in front of the main cabin door, continuing to close the door and read.

The crowd who were peeking with peripheral vision suddenly showed expressions of relief, looked at each other, hmm, continue to slack off, he won't come out until evening next time.

Ye Weilai was wearing a moon-white long skirt, her waist-length silver hair tied up with a jade hairpin, her small face covered by a thin white veil, and she came to the main cabin with a breakfast tray in her hands.

She stood quietly in front of the door, looked at the tightly closed door, and said softly:

"Tanlang, it's time to eat."

A steady voice came from inside the door: "Put it on the table outside the door."

"Yes." Ye Weilai looked at the door, knelt down, and put down the breakfast.

I saw the silver-haired girl turn and leave, going to call the maids to work.

What Ye Weilai and everyone on the ship didn't know was that there was no shadow of Ouyang Rong in the main cabin at this moment.

Only a wooden man sat at the table, his expression serious, his right hand clutching a bronze beast mask a bit nervously.

Waiting until the sound of Miss Ye's footsteps finally went away, the man let out a long breath.

Liu Ashan lowered his head, looked at the bronze beast mask, and then looked at the moonlight long sword on the table, shaking his head with a sigh.

These few days, he had been acting according to Master's instructions, and looking at it now, there were no flaws.

The moonlight long sword was handed to him by Master before parting, saying it could make him look more like it.

As for the Mirage Beast Mask, according to Master's statement, after Master collected his Qi, he operated on it, and now Liu Ashan could use it for a short time. As for outsiders, they couldn't use it even if they got it.

Although that was the case, Liu Ashan didn't wear the mask all day, only wearing it for a short time when patrolling morning and evening, and taking it off immediately upon returning to the cabin.

Because he heard Master say that this object needed to be replenished with a special spiritual energy that only Master possessed.

So Liu Ashan thought that saving a little spiritual energy was a little, only wearing it when necessary. After all, the journey was still long. What if the spiritual energy was exhausted after long-term wearing?

Recalling Miss Ye's tone just now, Liu Ashan nodded and muttered to himself:

"Master is still smart and thorough. Before boarding the ship, he had already instructed Miss Ye about some things. After boarding, I found an excuse to close the door and read, and Miss Ye didn't suspect anything, probably thinking it was because Master was in a bad mood..."

Liu Ashan was a bit flustered at first, but after observing for these two days, Miss Ye had always been emotionally stable, with a normal routine, and there was no abnormality.

Liu Ashan touched his rumbling stomach, lowered his head, and put on the mask.

Hua Xuanji, in front of the table, the "young magistrate" in official robes stood up, walked to the door, listened carefully, and taking advantage of no one passing by outside, quickly opened and closed the door, taking in the food tray.

"Is it longan and lotus seed eight-treasure porridge again? Same as yesterday and the day before... It seems Master likes to eat it, and Miss Ye is indeed thoughtful towards Master..."

Liu Ashan looked at the hot porridge and pickles on the food tray with some curiosity and nodded, muttering.

He wasn't a picky eater, and soon he buried his head and ate happily with a look of happiness.

Speaking of which, Liu Ashan hadn't eaten such fine breakfast. These were only conditions that scholars like Ouyang Rong could afford to eat. He was just a rough man, and now he was lucky to have a feast.

After eating in one gulp, Liu Ashan showed a look of guilt.

After a short while, pinching the time, he quickly opened the door and placed the food tray on the table outside the door.

After doing these, Liu Ashan turned back to look at the empty room. He couldn't understand books, so naturally, he was bored, walked to the bed, and buried his head to sleep.

Liu Ashan, who was sleepy from the rocking of the ship, didn't know that not long after he placed the food tray outside the door, a slender white-skirted figure appeared.

Ye Weilai lowered her head to look at the porridge bowl that had been eaten clean again, and she turned and left with the tray.

I don't know if it was because of the rocking of the ship, but Ye Weilai's body also swayed, her footsteps staggered, and she left stumbling.

On the deck, a little maid who was bumped into by her looked timid, apologized first, then looked stunned, looking up at the silver-haired girl's back who didn't look back, muttering...

Liu Ashan was dazed when he heard a "bang bang bang" knocking sound, accompanied by a commotion outside:

"It's not good, it's not good, Master! Miss Ye is gone. We've searched three times and can't see her shadow!"

Liu Ashan woke up suddenly, jumped off the bed, rushed halfway, turned back to put on the mask, grabbed the long sword, and crashed out the door.

"Where is this?"

Liu Ashan frowned, pointing at the bustling pier where the official ship was docked for rest at the moment.

"It's Xunyang Ferry in Jiangzhou." The boatman whispered.

Liu Ashan stared at the bustling pier and sighed:

"Not good, Miss Ye must have seen through me and got off the ship to run back to find Master?"

Ignoring the boatmen and maids who were stunned and confused, Liu Ashan immediately set off, wanting to rush off the official ship and chase people like finding a needle in a haystack.

But at this time, an old boatman walked over with a slightly strange expression and said:

"Master, found her."

Liu Ashan was stunned, asked for details, and turned to rush to the bottom cargo hold.

Entering, he looked closely and indeed saw a lonely and slender silver-white figure among a pile of luggage.

Ye Weilai leaned sideways against a large wooden box, her delicate body curled into a ball, her loose silver hair hanging to the ground.

Liu Ashan looked at the somewhat familiar large wooden box, which seemed to contain Master's scrolls, clothes, and bedding.

"You..." He stopped talking,

"You are not Tanlang." Ye Weilai suddenly choked and spoke.

She had two lines of clear tears, shaking her head forcefully at Liu Ashan, whose movements were stuck:

"Master hates longan, doesn't like eating longan and lotus seed eight-treasure porridge. You ate it for three days, the bowl was clean, and there was no reaction."

Liu Ashan:...

He opened his mouth, speechless for a long time, took off his mask, and lowered his head in guilt: "Miss Ye, it's me..."

Ye Weilai was not surprised by this. She curled up and hugged her knees, burying her head. It seemed she had already cried fiercely, her thin shoulders still twitching, her voice hoarse:

"Brother Ashan, don't worry, I won't run... won't run back secretly."

Liu Ashan breathed a sigh of relief silently, looked at the silver-haired girl whose face was stained with tears, and was at a loss.

He turned and borrowed a handkerchief from a maid and handed it over.

Ye Weilai didn't take it, turned a deaf ear, and tightened her arms.

Only then did Liu Ashan discover that Miss Ye was holding a pile of scrolls Master had read and Confucian shirts and inner clothes Master had worn.

At this moment, I only saw Ye Weilai lower her head to look at the crumpled scrolls and clothes in her arms, her small face haggard and miserable, whispering in a daze:

"He wants to leave, I know. Tanlang wants to leave, you can't lie to me... He is going to a place that will never return. Brother Ashan, Tanlang left so decisively."

She laughed and cried.

Liu Ashan asked suspiciously: "Isn't Master busy with promotion and transfer? How could he leave? Did Miss Ye misunderstand something?"

"That's not it, promotion and titles don't interest him as much as the orchid on the windowsill; you don't understand him..."

"But where is Master going?"

"I don't know where he is going, but I know Tanlang is leaving. I can see it. The preparations he made are to say goodbye to us forever. I thought it was after sending me back to Nanlong, but I didn't expect it to be Brother Ashan who came..."

Ye Weilai whispered, her little white-haired head tilted slightly, looking out of the porthole, her little face dazed, and suddenly asked:

"Can Brother Ashan help me one last time?"

"What... what help?" Liu Ashan looked troubled.

Ye Weilai tried hard to wipe her face and eyes with the back of her hand, raised her head, and showed a smiling face expressing joy and worry-free:

"Brother Ashan, don't worry, I'll listen to Tanlang, won't run, return to my hometown to worship my ancestors, but Brother Ashan, my heart hurts so much, strange, it hurts so much, you, can you... can you go back to Longcheng now? Try your best to stop him. Your words are more effective than mine, okay? Brother Ashan, I beg you..."

Liu Ashan and the silver-haired girl with a few strands of silver hair on her lips looked at each other silently.

I don't know how long passed.

A sigh sounded in the cargo hold. Liu Ashan lowered his head, first solemnly put away the bronze mask, then nodded and said in a muffled voice:

"Okay. Miss Ye, listen and return to your hometown. I'll go back now. Relax, maybe you misunderstood Master."

"Misunderstood him..."

Ye Weilai looked out the window, tilted her head and smiled:

"The person you love most, who you regard as life, doesn't want you, but you can't disobey his orders anymore. You must honestly listen and leave, watching him step on a journey that may never return without looking back. There is nothing more painful in the world than this, Brother Ashan. Have you experienced this feeling?"

She pointed to her heart with trembling fingers and asked with a happy smile.

Liu Ashan shook his head.

Ye Weilai hugged her knees and buried her face; Liu Ashan bowed his hands solemnly:

"Since Miss Ye listens and returns to her hometown, I'll go first."

Ye Weilai didn't answer again. She turned her face and looked at the waves outside the window, whispering like a dream:

"Go quickly, go quickly, it's going to be too late..." ===== CHAPTER 211 =====