After the Grain Rain, catkins fell, cuckoos cried at night, and the cold wave weather was over. Yandu is far away from the mountains and forests, located in the center of the city, and is the place where the temperature rises the fastest. People who were still wearing fur coats a few days ago have changed into thin clothes, and the atmosphere on the street has also changed. Women and children who originally stayed at home also went out with flower baskets, and the number of street vendors increased unnoticed.
Chu Shaoqin and Li Qiuxue have been living in the inn for quite some time, and they have been observing all the movements in Yandu City. On this day, people on the street walked in the same direction, which was the direction of the Yandu bulletin board. The latest news of Yandu every day would be posted on that eye-catching bulletin board.
Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin would pass by there every day to learn about the latest situation in the city. But today was a little different. People had joy on their faces, as if something good had happened. Li Qiuxue walked in front and joined in the fun.
Chu Shaoqin followed her closely, afraid of losing her.
They squeezed in from the tight crowd and saw a notice on the bulletin board. The general content of the notice was that Hua Shenghe's daughter Hua Yu would celebrate her birthday in three days, and a banquet would be held in the mansion, inviting many celebrities in Yandu to attend.
Chu Shaoqin felt that the name Hua Shenghe was familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere. He searched in his mind for a moment and finally remembered this person. Hua Shenghe was once a general in the court. He had some soldiers and horses, and he also had his own shop in Yandu. He was a man who could do anything. Later, when the country was peaceful and the people were safe, Chu Fu was worried that Hua Shenghe, who had too much military power, would threaten him, so he hinted at something. Hua Shenghe was a smart man. He took the initiative to hand over his military power and retired to the countryside, becoming the largest merchant in Yandu.
Although Hua Shenghe has no real power in the court, he must have raised troops in private. He is one of the most influential people in Yandu, and he is also a very cunning person. Since the disappearance of the prince, the emperor's tyranny has become more and more obvious. Hua Shenghe also wants to take advantage of the chaos to gain some power. If he can establish a relationship with the Hua family, it can help him.
"Let's go and take a look too." Li Qiuxue, who loved to join in the fun, turned and looked at Chu Shaoqin.
Chu Shaoqin was stunned when his thoughts were interrupted, and nodded hurriedly. Li Qiuxue showed two dimples and walked out of the crowd with a swagger.
Chu Shaoqin looked at her back with mixed feelings. He didn't know what would happen in the future, nor did he know if, as Chen San said, he might not be able to protect her.
"Shao Qin, what are you doing standing there? Let's go eat some plain noodles later."
"Okay." Chu Shaoqin hurriedly caught up with Li Qiuxue and took her hand. The two of them swayed their hands back and forth childishly.
Chu Shaoqin secretly looked at Li Qiuxue's profile. She was looking at the street vendors. Her soft and beautiful profile was very beautiful, and the more you looked at her, the more you liked her. In the past, Chu Shaoqin thought that no one would like a young lady like Li Qiuxue who had such a bad temper and was so willful and unruly. But when you get along with her, you find that she is so special. She will neither try to please others deliberately nor be pretentious. Chu Shaoqin was attracted by her realness and could not take his eyes away.
"Shao Qin, I don't seem to know where you are from." Li Qiuxue suddenly said.
Chu Shaoqin opened his lips slightly and stopped. Li Qiuxue, who did not notice anything unusual, counted on her fingers and said, "What kind of people are your parents? Who are your relatives? Before you marry me, should we go meet your parents first?"
"My parents are no longer alive. I have no relatives in this world." Chu Shaoqin clenched his fists. When he thought of his uncles killing his father, the hatred in his heart burned into a fire. This fire was surging in his eyes, but Li Qiuxue's gentle touch calmed him down.
"So you are the same as me. It doesn't matter. You have me and I have you. We can just rely on each other." Li Qiuxue smiled innocently and reached out to smooth his frown.
Chu Shaoqin stared at her blankly, not knowing whether she was really ignorant of the world or just too naive. After a long while, Chu Shaoqin sneered and took Li Qiuxue into his arms.
"Xue'er, from now on, will you always stay by my side?"
"Yes."
"No matter what happens, you will never leave me?"
"Well, I'm not leaving."
"Pink." Chu Shaoqin extended his little finger, and Li Qiuxue smiled with two dimples. She extended her slender little finger and hooked it with Chu Shaoqin's little finger. The two little fingers were pulled together and swung in the air for a few circles. The two couldn't help laughing and walked on the street with their fingers hooked.
Three days later.
Hua Mansion was decorated with lanterns and was very lively. The invited virtuous people and merchants arrived one after another. Chu Shaoqin and Li Qiuxue, who did not have an invitation, squatted not far from Hua Mansion and observed. After seeing the situation clearly, the two pretended to pass by Hua Mansion and stole the invitation of a couple. As soon as they got off the carriage, they were accidentally bumped by Li Qiuxue, who scolded them a few words and then walked into Hua Mansion.
"Why is the invitation missing?"
"Did you forget it at home?"
The two who couldn't find the invitation were eventually driven away by the guards of the Hua Mansion. They left angrily in a carriage. Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin proudly showed the stolen invitation, and sneaked into the Hua Mansion with the invitation after they left.
Hua Mansion is the largest mansion in Yandu, covering an area of ​​hundreds of acres. It has a square structure and is equipped with palaces, halls and corridors. There are also countless guards and maids in the mansion.
Li Qiuxue observed the people who were invited. Among them were weak scholars, wealthy businessmen, and burly generals. They were scattered in the huge courtyard in groups of three or four, chatting about their own topics. Li Qiuxue had never seen such a big scene, and she felt like a frog in a well, and there was a world of difference between her and these people.
Before the banquet began, Chu Shaoqin and Li Qiuxue bypassed everyone and visited the halls and attics in Hua Mansion. To the west of Hua Mansion was a natural mountain spring, and under the spring was a lotus pond, in which many koi were raised. Li Qiuxue walked down along the edge of the pond, wanting to see where the lotus pond led to.
"Hurry up, stuff these into the fish's stomach." A group of servants were squatting by the lotus pond and working. Chu Shaoqin hurriedly grabbed Li Qiuxue's hand and pulled her down to hide them from the fence. They looked in that direction carefully and saw two large buckets by the lotus pond, with two buckets of koi in them. The group was busy stuffing some cloth into the koi's mouths and letting them swallow it.
"Shao Qin, what do you think they are doing?" Li Qiuxue asked in a low voice.
Chu Shaoqin looked at a place not far away, as if thinking about something.
Hua Shenghe's wife died young, and he fought in the battlefield in his early years. In order to protect his daughter, he rarely let outsiders contact Hua Yu. But he suddenly invited all the big men in the city to celebrate his daughter's birthday. This time happened to coincide with the emperor's tyranny and the prince's disappearance. I guess this birthday celebration was for other reasons.
"Shaoqin, what are you thinking about?" Li Qiuxue saw Chu Shaoqin silent and pushed his shoulder.
Chu Shaoqin came back to his senses. Although he was not sure what Hua Shenghe wanted to do, he still wanted to take a gamble.
"Xue'er, find a way to lure those people away. I have a way to let Hua Shenghe help us enter the palace to take revenge." Chu Shaoqin leaned close to Li Qiuxue's ear and told her his plan.
After they completed their planned tasks, they returned to the birthday celebration hall.
Inside the palace hall, people were drinking and chatting happily, discussing their lofty ambitions.
When the music stopped, someone suddenly stood up from the seats and, under the pretext of drunkenness, mentioned something that the people dared not speak out about.
"In recent years, the emperor has become more and more tyrannical. Not only has he increased taxes, he has also forcibly abducted women, making life miserable for the people of Yandu."
Chu Shaoqin looked at the man who pretended to be drunk and brought up the emperor's tyranny. He was obviously not a celebrity, but rather someone planted by Hua Shenghe to gather information at the banquet.
"The emperor should be a virtuous man who loves his people like his own children, but our emperor not only ignores state affairs, he is also licentious and immoral!" Another man also stood up to create a topic. They seemed to have agreed on it. They walked out of their seats with wine glasses in their hands and expressed their dissatisfaction with the emperor.
The people at the banquet also began to make a commotion, accusing the emperor of being incompetent and unworthy of being the emperor, and that he should support the prince as the new king.
"I heard that the prince was hunted down for disobeying the emperor, and now he is missing."
"It would be great if the prince were here." When everyone agreed to overthrow the emperor and support the new king, Hua Shenghe suddenly sighed.
Upon hearing this, everyone at the banquet fell silent for a moment, and then someone loudly suggested that Hua Shenghe start an uprising in the name of the prince, eliminate the tyrant first, and then make other plans.
"Master Hua was a general in the court. Although his troops and horses have been handed over to the court, he must still be able to lead troops." One person said. What he didn't say explicitly was probably "You may have a private army."
"That's right." A scholar-like man next to him said, "Now, as long as you nod, we will definitely help you."
"Yes, as long as Master Hua asks, we will definitely help you!"
Everyone was talking at once, Hua Shenghe listened but did not answer for a long time, just stroked his beard and frowned in thought. But Chu Shaoqin noticed a barely perceptible smile on the corner of his lips.
What a Hua Shenghe, he really wanted to take advantage of the prince's disappearance to usurp the throne, it seems that his father's initial vigilance against him was not groundless. However, in this case, his identity as the prince cannot be known to him for the time being, so as to avoid more trouble.
The wind came from nowhere, ringing the wind chimes hanging from the eaves. The sound of harps and pipa came from the attic behind them. When they turned around, they saw a piece of white silk embroidered with flowing clouds flying out of the attic, and a graceful figure fell on the white silk.
The woman who came with her toes on white silk was wearing a peony embroidered dress. The cross-collared skirt inside the dress was blown by the wind, like a white lotus bud about to bloom. She had a graceful figure, long hair flying like willow branches, a pair of bright eyes, and two thin red lips that seemed to be smiling.
The people at the banquet thought that a fairy had descended from heaven, and they could not help but follow the woman dancing in the air as she walked towards the lotus pond.
The woman stopped in the pavilion on the lotus pond, and her graceful dance was fascinating. Just as everyone was fascinated, a scene in the pond caught everyone's attention.
"Look, all the koi in the pond are floating up." Suddenly, someone pointed at the pond and shouted, and all the koi in the pond turned upside down and floated on the water.
Hua Shenghe couldn't help but frown as he walked forward. This was different from what he had originally planned. What was going on?
"It is said that koi are the incarnation of dragons, but the koi in this pond died in droves when we arrived. This shows that the emperor's luck has run out!" People surrounding the lotus pond began to talk and brought up various legends about koi.
Suddenly, someone pointed to where the ripples were forming in the pond, where a golden koi was swimming back and forth, seemingly the only living koi in the pond.
"Look, there's a golden koi swimming over there!"
"Hurry up and take a look!" People were making a fuss, and were very concerned about this inexplicable phenomenon.
After receiving Hua Shenghe's instructions, the servants in the mansion hurriedly found a fishing net and fished out the only living koi in the lake.
Out of the water, the koi fish bounced on the ground with its mouth open, as if something was stuck in its throat.
"There seems to be something in the fish's mouth." Everyone gathered around and curiously opened the fish's mouth. They saw that there was indeed something hidden in the fish's mouth.
"It's a piece of cloth." someone said.
Hua Shenghe watched silently, his face calm, but in his heart he was satisfied with his arrangement. But just as people were about to unfold the cloth, Hua Yu, who was dancing on the waterside pavilion, twisted her foot for some reason, and then lost her balance and fell into the pool.
The sound of falling into the water attracted everyone's attention. After Hua Shenghe saw his daughter fall into the water, he hurriedly shouted for help, but the one who was faster than him was Chu Shaoqin.
After Chu Shaoqin dragged Huayu to the shore, the servants who were waiting helped pull the young lady ashore and used the clothes that had been prepared to cover Huayu's wet clothes to prevent others from seeing them. Chu Shaoqin, who was also wet, was exposed to everyone.
At that moment, the man holding the cloth had already unfolded it. He looked at Chu Shaoqin's right arm and muttered in disbelief, "The King of Red Clouds."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone started talking about it.
No one present was stupid. Hua Shenghe had done so much today, and his purpose was obvious. But what did it matter? The winners were kings and the losers were bandits. This was a rule since ancient times. Besides, the current emperor was not a wise ruler. Hua Shenghe just lacked a "name" and an "opportunity" to show that he was upright and in line with the will of heaven. But how did this "opportunity" fall to an unknown person?
Hua Shenghe was more surprised than everyone else. He no longer cared about his manners and snatched the cloth to read it.
What was going on? Why was everything different from what he had planned? Red cloud? Crown Prince Chu Shaoqin also seemed to have a red cloud birthmark on his body. Could the young man in front of him be the long-missing crown prince? If so, he could justifiably raise an army to rebel. The crown prince had no foundation in the court, so wouldn't he have to rely on him in the end? And if this person was not the crown prince, he could just go with the flow and use the crown prince's name to make him king, making him a puppet emperor in name only, saving him a lot of trouble.
After much deliberation, Hua Shenghe decided to take advantage of the situation. Revolt in the name of "Prince" would be much better than "hiding words in the fish's mouth".
After calming down, Hua Shenghe said with surprise, "It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! I remember that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a red cloud birthmark on his left arm!"
The red cloud birthmark resembles auspicious clouds, which means good luck, so the royal family publicized this matter widely. Not only Hua Shenghe, but it can be said that everyone in the world knows about it.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" After saying this, Hua Shenghe straightened his skirt and knelt down to kowtow to Chu Shaoqin, and the others followed suit.
Then it was time for the scholars to step forward. They felt that since Chu Shaoqin had not spoken during the discussion, he must have agreed with everyone, so no one wanted to miss this good opportunity to show their loyalty.
It is indeed dishonorable to seize the throne, but if the incumbent is incompetent, that is another matter. Besides, public opinion is guided by people, and ordinary people just want to live a good life. They don't understand the great principles and righteousness, and the things they know are just passed on by word of mouth. Therefore, these people who are closest to the people have taken on the important task of spreading information that is beneficial to them.
Chu Shaoqin listened to everyone's plan and thought of his father's helplessness when facing the civil servants, and finally he understood it deeply.
Words and writing are also extremely lethal weapons. Such a group of people are indeed capable of getting the people to support his "usurpation of the throne" this time. However, this is also Chu Ji's own death. His current behavior must have displeased many ministers in the court.
After the pleasant conversation, Hua Shenghe personally saw all the guests off, and then talked to Chu Shaoqin alone.
He spoke respectfully, but also revealed his suspicion of Chu Shaoqin's identity. Chu Shaoqin denied that he was the prince as planned, and told the story of how the Zhengda Escort Agency was destroyed because it offended the emperor.
Fortunately, he was weak and rarely seen before. During the time he spent in the escort agency, he not only became stronger, but also tanned. As long as it wasn't for the eunuchs and palace maids who served him, ordinary people would not recognize him. The portrait was too inaccurate, and there were no obvious marks on his face, so he didn't have to worry about being recognized by the portrait.
Chu Shaoqin claimed that he was an abandoned baby adopted by Zhengda Escort Agency. Because he had the same birthmark as the prince, he was named Bai Shaoqin. He told Hua Shenghe that his purpose was to avenge the people of Zhengda Escort Agency and he only hoped that Hua Shenghe could help him. He did not dare to covet the throne.
Of course, Hua Shenghe still had doubts about his words. On the one hand, he felt that if Chu Shaoqin was really the prince, he would definitely not use such a similar name to approach him, nor would he show his birthmark so openly to avoid arousing his suspicion; on the other hand, he was very wary of this young man.
However, no matter what his identity is, they now have a common enemy and are on the same boat. He has plenty of time to find out his identity.
When Li Qiuxue was taken to Chu Shaoqin's room, Hua Shenghe had already agreed to help them get revenge. Li Qiuxue didn't think much about it, thinking that Hua Shenghe helped them because of their intelligence.
Li Qiuxue recalled that they had led the servants away and poisoned all the koi in the pond, leaving only one golden koi. Afterwards, Li Qiuxue hit Huayu's calf with a stone in the dark, causing her to fall into the water, and everything that followed happened as they had imagined.
In this way, the two who had no place to stay in Yandu temporarily lived in the Hua Mansion. The Hua family was the largest family in Yandu and had great influence in Yandu. Even the officials were afraid of them. The Hua family had no military power in name, but they had trained a group of guards and elite soldiers in private, and they also had some family friends who were generals in the court.
The guards of the Hua Mansion always monitored everyone's actions, except Hua Shenghe and Hua Yu. Every time Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin went out and came back, they were routinely searched to see if they had brought anything they shouldn't have before they were allowed in. Every time they brought something back from the market, the guards would confiscate it. Over time, Li Qiuxue didn't like to go out anymore.
But compared to this, what she couldn't stand the most was Hua Shenghe's daughter - Hua Yu.
Hua Yu is known as the most beautiful woman in Yandu. In addition to her beauty, she is also a lady from a noble family who is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. However, the main reason why Li Qiuxue doesn't like Hua Yu is that Hua Yu always pesters Chu Shaoqin with various tricks. As the saying goes, when rivals meet, they are particularly jealous. The two always have disputes over some trivial matters.
Li Qiuxue is impetuous and easily angered. She always quarrels with Hua Yu in front of Chu Shaoqin, and even draws a knife against her. Hua Yu looks gentle and elegant, but in fact she is a cruel and ruthless person with a sharp tongue. She never takes action, but waits for Chu Shaoqin to stand up for her, then ridicules Li Qiuxue and walks away.
There was no way. She was Hua Shenghe's daughter. Even though Li Qiuxue knew that Chu Shaoqin helped her for the sake of the overall situation, she was still angry and took it out on Chu Shaoqin in private.
So, in the war between two women, the innocent one in the end is the man in the middle.
However, due to a certain coincidence, Li Qiuxue realized that Hua Yu was not as harmless as she seemed.
One day, when Li Qiuxue was passing by the backyard, she accidentally saw Huayu stepping on a chick that had fallen to the ground to death. At that time, the sinister look in Huayu's eyes was very scary, and Li Qiuxue was worried for herself and Chu Shaoqin.
Some time later, Hua Shenghe held another party in the name of "Crown Prince" and stated that he wanted to overthrow the tyrant ruler. Many court officials who were on Hua Shenghe's side came to the party.
On the day when the mansion entertained guests, Hua Yu invited Li Qiuxue to dance with her to liven up the atmosphere. However, Li Qiuxue had only wielded swords and guns since she was young and could not dance at all.
"If you can't dance, I won't force you, but we in the Hua family don't keep idle people." Hua Yu said sarcastically, and Li Qiuxue accepted Hua Yu's challenge out of spite.
Hua Yu smiled with satisfaction, and when she saw Chu Shaoqin coming from another corridor, she turned and left.
"Xue'er, what were you talking about just now? Is Huayu making things difficult for you again?" When Chu Shaoqin approached, Huayu had already left. He looked at Li Qiuxue and asked.
"No, Huayu asked me to wait a moment..." Li Qiuxue denied subconsciously. She didn't want to appear inferior to Huayu in front of Chu Shaoqin.
"Shao Qin." Hua Shenghe's voice came from afar, as if there was something urgent, "I have something to discuss with you."
During the time she was at the Hua family, Chu Shaoqin and Hua Shenghe were always "discussing big plans", but she didn't understand any of it, so she consciously didn't join in the fun, so as not to disturb them. However, the number of times she saw Chu Shaoqin became less and less. The two of them lived under the same roof, but it seemed as if they were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
After agreeing to Hua Shenghe's request, Chu Shaoqin said to Li Qiuxue with a hint of apology: "You go shopping first. When you're done with this busy period, we'll have time to spend time together." He stroked her hair gently, his eyes full of doting.
No matter how much Li Qiuxue relied on him, she knew the seriousness of the matter. She just nodded without showing any grievance.
Watching Chu Shaoqin's departing back, Li Qiuxue thought of Hua Yu's provocation again, and couldn't help wondering if men preferred women like Hua Yu? Hua Yu's cakes were tastier than hers, her embroidered sachets were prettier than hers, and her words and deeds were more generous and decent than hers.
Since Hua Yu appeared, Li Qiuxue has been reflecting on whether she has not been good enough to Chu Shaoqin. She always seems to bully Chu Shaoqin, unlike Hua Yu, who always whispers in front of Chu Shaoqin. She used to be fearless, but now she has become anxious because she likes someone.
This feeling is really uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? Are you scared and don't want to go?" Not long after Chu Shaoqin left, Hua Yu, wearing a long dress, walked out from the corridor.
She probably showed up at the perfect time.
Hua Yu was wearing a crimson long skirt, the hem of which dragged several meters back, like a blooming blood-red mandala. Li Qiuxue couldn't bear to see her contemptuous look, so she agreed in a rush.
"Who's afraid!" Li Qiuxue said.
Hua Yu raised her lips and covered the corners of her mouth with her hands. She looked Li Qiuxue up and down with her eyes raised, and said to the maid beside her: "Take her to change into suitable clothes and dress her up."
After finishing her makeup, Li Qiuxue seemed like a different person. If she hadn't moved, she would still be a beauty. It seemed that Hua Yu didn't make her ugly on purpose.
As if seeing what Li Qiuxue was thinking, Hua Yu waited for her to come out, then slowly put down the teacup and said, "Don't worry, my strength is enough to deal with you."
"You!" Li Qiuxue clenched her fists and subconsciously wanted to solve the problem with force, but then she thought of the many guards in the Hua Mansion, and she would only suffer if she took action in private. She held back and just sulked in her heart, thinking that the outcome would be decided on the stage later.
However, when she and Hua Yu walked into the front hall one after another, Li Qiuxue suddenly wilted.
The front hall was full of guests, and the moment they appeared, everyone's eyes were cast towards them. Facing this scene, Hua Yu was at ease, but she was timid and followed Hua Yu at a loss.
"Xue'er?" Chu Shaoqin was the first to see Li Qiuxue. "What are you doing..."
Li Qiuxue's face was a little hot. Seeing the big scene in front of her, she realized that dancing out of anger was too hasty. She murmured like a child who had done something wrong: "Dancing..."
"Dancing? You..." Chu Shaoqin knew that Li Qiuxue must have been provoked by Hua Yu, but he couldn't bear to blame her when he saw her like this, and suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Don't say anymore. I know I was wrong." Li Qiuxue was the first to admit, "I... I just don't want to see Hua Yu showing off in front of you alone..." As she spoke, Li Qiuxue's voice became smaller and smaller. "Although I can't dance, I know martial arts. At most, I can just perform a set of boxing techniques..."
Li Qiuxue’s straightforward words shocked Chu Shaoqin’s heart, and then he felt a warm current.
"Fool." After a long time, Chu Shaoqin chuckled.
Li Qiuxue's previous depression was swept away when she heard this, but she knew that she couldn't yell in the current situation, so she lowered her voice and said fiercely: "Who are you calling a fool! I'm doing this for you!"
"I'm praising you!" Chu Shaoqin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"You are kidding fools. How can you praise people like this?" Li Qiuxue didn't believe it.
In another corner, Hua Yu, who was beside Hua Shenghe, noticed the interaction between the two and secretly clenched her hands under her wide sleeves, thinking that she must perform well to embarrass Li Qiuxue later, but the result was not as she expected.
When it was Li Qiuxue's turn, she used peach branches as swords, holding one in each hand, and performed a set of smooth sword techniques.
As he did so, peach petals from the branches fell down like a painting. The guests were almost stunned. Hua Yu was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but he still had to congratulate him calmly.
"How is it? I didn't embarrass you, did I?" After finishing, Li Qiuxue ran to Chu Shaoqin and said proudly.
Chu Shaoqin pretended to think, and Li Qiuxue saw this, her eyes widened and she was about to take action. Chu Shaoqin nodded and praised: "There is no beauty in the world better than Qiuxue."
The autumn wind blew past her face, and everything became bleak in an instant. Ever since she won the dance against Hua Yu, Li Qiuxue was like a victorious general, with an unconcealable joy on her face.
That day, she went out to relax and saw that many stalls selling calligraphy and paintings had appeared on the street, so she went forward to take a look.
The scenery in the scroll was all the scenery in Qingyang City. She was stunned when she saw it and missed the time in Qingyang City.
At that time, she had her father's love and the escort agency's people to play with her. But in the blink of an eye, she came to this strange place, living under the same roof with a group of people who hated each other.
She missed home very much, she missed the people, things, night sky and pear trees at home. But she couldn't go back, because there were no relatives waiting for her at home.
"Daddy, I miss you so much." Li Qiuxue reached out and touched the scene on the scroll. It was a bustling street in Qingyang City. Snowflakes were floating in the sky and people were walking on the streets covered with fine snow.
"Li Qiuxue?" Suddenly, a familiar voice came into Li Qiuxue's ears.
She turned her head and saw a man who looked like a scholar.
"Is it really you?" The man was so delighted when he saw Li Qiuxue's face that he took a few steps forward and said.
"Xue Shaoheng?" Li Qiuxue blurted out.
They had met not long ago, and Xue Shaoheng was still dressed in white, just like when they first met, and looked like a scholar. But this time he was holding a folding fan, looking even more suave.
"Why are you here?" Li Qiuxue asked.
"Oh, me! Some time ago, Qingyang City was full of soldiers. I was afraid it was unsafe to live alone in the house, so I moved to Yandu and sold some paintings and calligraphy and did some small business. Yandu is the capital after all, so it must be safer and more comfortable." Xue Shaoheng unfolded his folding fan, and a few strands of hair on his temples were blown by the wind. He smiled elegantly, and suddenly his face was full of emotion, "Qiuxue, I have heard about your family's affairs. Hey, you said you were fine, how could you get into such a disaster?"
"It's all in the past, let's not talk about it." Li Qiuxue didn't want to talk about the extermination of the Li family, so she avoided the topic. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, Xue Shaoheng suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Qiuxue, my family also knows some people in the court, maybe they can help you redress your grievances. How about you come with me and I can introduce you to someone?" Xue Shaoheng let go of his hand and waited for Li Qiuxue to answer.
Li Qiuxue didn't know anyone in Yandu, so when Xue Shaoheng said this, she believed it without hesitation.
Chu Shaoqin saw that Li Qiuxue had not returned to Hua Mansion, so he went out to look for her. But he looked everywhere she might have gone, but he didn't see Li Qiuxue. He suddenly felt uneasy. Li Qiuxue had no relatives or friends in Yandu, so where could she go?
"Xue'er, where have you been?" Chu Shaoqin frowned and muttered to himself. He then asked pedestrians and roadside vendors on the street, hoping to find Li Qiuxue as soon as possible, but the only answer he got was a shake of the head.
Gradually, a trace of fear arose in Chu Shaoqin's heart. He was afraid that she would disappear from his life like this, and that he would never be able to find her again.
On the other side, Li Qiuxue followed Xue Shaoheng into a three-story attic. The first floor of the attic was for selling calligraphy and painting, the second floor was a study, and the third floor was a wing room. Xue Shaoheng led Li Qiuxue to the wing room on the third floor and told her that after leaving Qingyang City, he spent a lot of money to buy this attic as a place to stay in Yandu. This place can be used for business and to cultivate sentiment. It is a residence that people like him yearn for.
"Why is there a fragrance in this room?" Li Qiuxue smelled a strange aroma when she walked into the side room. She was curious about the source of the fragrance, but couldn't find any aromatherapy burner in the house.
"It's emitted by the murals on the wall. I had people soak the painting paper with spices, so it has a strange fragrance." Xue Shaoheng explained and walked to the table to brew a pot of tea.
Li Qiuxue looked around the room and then sat down opposite Xue Shaoheng. Xue Shaoheng handed her a cup of hot tea and made a gesture of invitation.
Li Qiuxue picked up the teacup, blew on it a few times, and took a few sips slowly.
Xue Shaoheng watched her finish the cup of tea, and raised his lips slightly with a smile: "Li Qiuxue, do you still remember that I once pursued you, and you said that scholars are useless?"
"I was wrong before. I shouldn't have said such harsh words." Li Qiuxue felt ashamed when she thought of her past self. She was about to apologize seriously when Xue Shaoheng in front of her became blurry.
"You may not remember what I said." Xue Shaoheng's strange smile gradually became blurred in front of Li Qiuxue's eyes. She felt weak all over and could only feel that she was helped to the bed in her consciousness. She wanted to reach out for the dagger at her waist, but her hand was held tightly by Xue Shaoheng.
She heard the sound of the dagger being thrown to the ground and felt the hot breath on her neck.
Xue Shaoheng's nightmare-like voice rang in her ears: "I told you, you will regret it."
"Let me go, what are you doing..." Li Qiuxue didn't know why she felt weak all over, and the scene in front of her eyes became more and more blurred. She felt her brain was in chaos, her eyelids were getting heavier, and a pair of hands were untying her belt...
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and then a vague figure pulled Xue Shaoheng away from her kneeling on top of her. She heard the sound of beating, but didn't know what happened, and fell into a deep sleep.
It was a coincidence that Chu Shaoqin was desperate and tried to look from shop to shop, but he saw an acquaintance at the second shop he looked at.
He remembered that this person was Xue Shaoheng's servant, so he asked him about it, but he didn't want to hear the news that Xue Shaoheng brought Li Qiuxue here. Fortunately, he arrived in time, otherwise he couldn't imagine the consequences.
After kicking the door open, Chu Shaoqin first grabbed Xue Shaoheng by the collar and beat him up. Xue Shaoheng was a weak scholar, so he had to take the beating. When he was beaten black and blue, and hid under the table, holding his head and refusing to come out, Chu Shaoqin carefully carried away the unconscious Li Qiuxue. When he trembled and crawled out from under the table, there was no one else in the room.
Hua Yu in the Hua Mansion was looking for Chu Shaoqin everywhere. She hoped that Chu Shaoqin could understand that only their Hua family could help him and that only she was the right person to stand by his side. But before she could be complacent in front of Chu Shaoqin, she saw him hurriedly passing by the path not far away holding Li Qiuxue. Hua Yu frowned slightly and walked in that direction with her long skirt dragging on the ground.
Chu Shaoqin gently placed Li Qiuxue on the bench in the waterside pavilion, gently called "Xue'er", and shook her. The effect of the drug gradually faded, and Li Qiuxue opened her eyes in a daze. Chu Shaoqin's worried look went from blurry to clear, reflected in her eyes.
She didn't remember what happened before Chu Shaoqin appeared, but she vaguely remembered someone undressing her.
"Bai Shaoqin, you..." Li Qiuxue, who hadn't figured out the situation yet, grabbed her collar and slapped Chu Shaoqin in the face. "You actually had these dirty thoughts about me. I'll punish you!"
"Xue'er!" Chu Shaoqin frowned, his voice loud enough to cover everything. He grabbed Li Qiuxue's hand that was waving at him again, with flames burning in his eyes, "Do you know how dangerous it was just now? If I had come a step later, do you know what would have happened?"
Li Qiuxue was stunned, trying to recall what happened after she left Hua Mansion. She met Xue Shaoheng and went to his house, and then... Xue Shaoheng drugged her tea and...
When she thought of this, Li Qiuxue's arrogance immediately subsided, and her eyes were filled with tears. She sobbed like a child who was at a loss. She had never thought that something like this would happen, and she had never thought that Xue Shaoheng, who looked like a gentleman, would be such a dirty person.
"People out there are treacherous. How can you just believe what others say? How can you just follow others? Do you know how dangerous this is? If I wasn't here today, do you know what you would face?" Chu Shaoqin let go of her hand angrily and turned his back to her.
He didn't know why he was so angry, because she was stupid and naive? Or because she scared and worried him?
Hua Yu, who was standing not far away, looked at them, her red lips slightly raised, watching Li Qiuxue being despised by Chu Shaoqin, watching her squatting on the ground helplessly, covering her face and crying.
"I am just a person who can only hold others back. I can't do anything. I am no match for Hua Yu. I am no match for her in everything... I used to act recklessly because I relied on my father's love for me. Now my father is gone. My only relative in this world is gone. I don't know where to go. I don't know who I can trust. I know I am annoying. Everyone hates me. Now even you hate me, right? Woo woo..."
"Xue'er..." Chu Shaoqin took a deep breath, helped Li Qiuxue up, and held her in his arms. He just couldn't bear to see her cry, couldn't bear to see her sad, "Xue'er, you don't need to compare yourself with Huayu, because in my heart, you will always be better than her. Xue'er, don't trust anyone except me in the future."
Li Qiuxue nodded and snuggled in Chu Shaoqin's arms.
Chu Shaoqin rested his chin on the top of her head, as if he was hugging the most precious treasure. His expression was complicated, intertwined with many emotions, but he smiled with relief because of the person in his arms. That smile was like a thorn in Hua Yu's heart, and he wanted to pull it out as soon as possible.