Chapter 57 Water Dragon Song (II)
Zhou Ting hurried back to the mansion from the nightclub in the rain. Without an umbrella, he walked through the courtyard and up the stairs. When he looked up, he saw his mother, Lan, sitting in the hall and drinking tea.
"Mother."
Zhou Ting walked in, raindrops dripping down his clothes. "Why did you call me back so urgently?"
"If I hadn't told you that I had something to do, would you have come back so soon?" Lan said, looking at his pale face, and then she reached out her hand and asked the maid to help her get up and approach him. While wiping the rain off his face and body with an embroidered handkerchief, she said, "Son, aren't you still injured? You just wouldn't listen to me and refused to stay at home for a few more days to recuperate. "
"Mom, I'm fine."
Zhou Ting shook his head, "You don't have to worry about me."
Although Emperor Zhengyuan had not yet issued a decree to replace private payments with official payments, Zhou Ting had not had an easy time these days. He had been subjected to both overt and covert exclusion, and occasional assassinations. He had also suffered injuries more than once, but he had not told his mother about these, only saying that he was injured on official business.
"You are my son, how can I not worry? You two are so taciturn, you never tell me anything. He has been an official in Wanjiang for many years and has never come back. Although you are in Beijing, you are always away from home. How long do you want me to take care of this house alone?"
Lan handed the wet handkerchief to the maid beside her, "Dingzhao, you refused to come back when your father was in Beijing, and he didn't see you come back many times when he went to Wanjiang. I know you are afraid of what I said, but Dingzhao, we are your parents, would we harm you? We are not afraid that you will become a military officer in the Night Division and make people outside laugh at our family. We are afraid that you will choose the wrong path. Look at those officials, who is not proud of being a clean civil official? Your immediate superior is a eunuch. Even if someone else becomes the Night Division envoy, he is still a eunuch. How can it be your turn? Can you ever get ahead like this?"
"Mother,"
Zhou Ting lowered his eyes, "If there is nothing else, I will go back to the Night Office first. I am busy recently. I will come back to see you when I have time."
Lan saw him bow and turn around to leave, so she called him again, "Ding Zhao, you are already twenty-three years old this year. If you have someone in your heart, you should tell me."
Hearing the voice, Zhou Ting turned around and met Lan's gaze.
Lan sat back down on the chair, took the teacup handed to her by the maid, and blew away the tea foam on the wall of the bowl. "I heard some rumors that you had a lot of contact with Miss Ni who went to Dengwen Drum Court to appeal for her brother."
When Zhou Ting heard her mention Ni Su, he took two steps forward and frowned, saying, "Mother, most of these rumors were deliberately framed by Wu Dai for Wu Jikang. I met Miss Ni because of the winter examination case."
"I didn't ask you that. A girl's reputation is extremely important. Don't I know that? Today, we are talking behind closed doors. I went to see that girl today."
Lan took a sip of hot tea.
Zhou Ting's heart sank, "Mother, why did you go to see her?"
Lan smiled faintly, "I'm not going to embarrass her. I just want to see what kind of girl she is. She's not afraid of being tortured or even losing her life."
"I think she is very good-looking and seems to be a lovable person," Lan placed the tea bowl on the table and carefully observed Zhou Ting's expression. "Dingzhao, our family is small and we don't have so many rules. She is an orphan who can do so much for her brother. She is a very rare girl. If you are interested in her, mother can also help you."
"Tell me, Ding Zhao, what are you thinking?"
Zhou Ting was in a state of confusion. He looked at his mother's face. As the rain fell , he was about to speak, but suddenly he remembered something. He immediately said, "Mother, the company is busy. I'll go first."
Before Lan could react, he saw him quickly walk out the door.
Chao Yisong was yawning outside Zhou's house. When he heard hurried footsteps, he immediately ran forward with an umbrella and said, "Master Zhou, where are you going?"
"Nanhuai Street." Zhou Ting climbed onto his horse. The wound under his collar opened a little, but he didn't care. He asked Chao Yisong, "Why didn't you tell me that my mother went to Nanhuai Street?"
"Madam...she won't let me tell you. She said she will tell you in person when you come back." Chao Yisong spoke with a lack of confidence.
As officials in the court had been targeting Zhou Ting overtly or covertly in recent days, Chao Yisong brought a group of close officials to guard Zhou's mansion to prevent anyone from taking action against Lan.
"Don't you know what my situation is like lately?"
"What……"
Chao Yisong was stunned for a moment, then realized, "Sir, you are worried that when Madam leaves, those people will target Ni..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhou Ting had already ridden his horse forward.
"Hurry, the rest of you follow Lord Zhou!" Chao Yisong's expression became much more serious. He immediately called over a few people and gave orders.
Because it was raining and it was dusk, the sky was dark and there were not many pedestrians on the street. The sound of horse hooves was rapid and clear. Zhou Ting quickly arrived at Nanhuai Street, but no one answered when he knocked on the main door of the clinic several times.
Ah Fang in the herbal medicine shop across the street looked at him for a while before walking out the door and shouting, "Are you here to see Sister Ni?"
Zhou Ting turned around when he heard the voice and saw a girl of about twelve or thirteen. He walked forward, his clothes almost soaked by the rain, and asked, "Do you know where she went?"
"She went to Yong'an Lake."
Afang said.
The rainy night fell quickly. Ni Su walked back holding a willow branch and an umbrella. Her shoes and socks were soaked and uncomfortable, and her skirt was also stained with mud.
There were still some dim lights on the lakeside, making the puddles at her feet sparkle. Ni Su lowered her head and saw a thin mist gathering at the edge of her sleeves.
The rain only stopped for a while from last night to this morning, and it started again in the afternoon. Xu Hexue only used bamboo strips to make the frame of the kite. In the afternoon, he and Ni Su went to Jiang's house. After talking with Censor Jiang, he came back and could not hold on any longer. His body turned into light mist and it was difficult to see his shape.
Ni Su lit many lamps and sat alone under the eaves. She did not go out to Yong'an Lake to pick willow leaves until she realized there were no willow leaves left at home.
The sound of raindrops is annoying.
There were no pedestrians by the lake, only clusters of light coming from the tarpaulin tents in the distance, and occasionally the aroma of food in the moist rain fog.
"Is it her?" In the dark shadow, a pair of eyes peeked at the young woman's back.
"yes."
Another hoarse voice sounded, "There have been rumors that she and Zhou Ting have had an affair. Our people saw it with their own eyes. Today, Zhou Ting's mother, Lan, entered this woman's clinic. I'm afraid good things are about to happen."
"A good thing?" The man sneered, "If Zhou Ting really values this girl, we will turn his family's good fortune into a tragedy!"
Raindrops fell on the cold blade, and a dozen people with half of their faces wrapped in black scarves leaned out.
The sound of footsteps on the rain was very heavy. Ni Su turned around almost the moment she heard the sound, and saw a flash of cold light flashing before her eyes. In just a moment, she was surrounded by these people with swords and unclear faces.
"What do you want to do?"
Ni Su was relatively calm.
"If you come with us obediently, we will not take your life." The leading man in black spoke in a rough voice.
"Why should I go with you?"
Ni Su saw the man's exposed eyes, which were extremely fierce.
The man in black did not intend to say anything more to her. He just raised his chin, and a man beside him stepped forward with a knife, with the blade against Ni Su's neck. However, his strength was so great that the back of the knife hit Ni Su's shoulder and neck hard, causing her to stagger and fall in the rain.
"Brother, if you want to lure Zhou Ting here, you must have a token. This woman is not an obedient one. I think you should cut off one of her hands and send her to Zhou's house."
The man with a hoarse voice narrowed his eyes, and the back of the knife pinned Ni Su in the rain, unable to get up.
"Do it."
The leader gave an order and two people immediately came to hold Ni Su down. The oilcloth tent in the distance was still quite lively. Ni Su opened her mouth to scream, but was covered tightly by a hand with such force that it almost crushed her bones.
One of her hands was pressed tightly to the ground, and her palm was pierced by a willow branch that fell on the ground. She saw the knife held high, and under the dim light, the blade showed a sharp, cold light.
Ni Su's eyes widened, and her tightly covered mouth could only make a "wuwu" sound. She clenched her palms, and the edges of the willow branch cut another long cut on her palms.
As the blade fell, Ni Su closed his eyes tightly.
The cold wind blew on my face, almost blowing the rain sideways. The dull sound of the blade entering flesh was heard, followed by a short, miserable cry.
Ni Su only felt something warm and wet on her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw red liquid dripping on her clothes. She realized later that it was blood.
Amidst the mist and rain, a young man in light blue robe stood before her. His eyes were lifeless and his figure was insignificant, so insignificant that even these killers who were used to killing people and drinking blood could not help but feel their hair stand on end and tremble all over.
They didn't dare to get close, and their subconscious reaction was to flee. However, this made it easier for Xu Hexue to locate the enemy by sound. In the misty and secluded place, the sound of rain could not cover up the various screams.
Xu Hexue's figure was sometimes bright and sometimes dim. He listened carefully and there was no other noise. At this moment, his hand holding the sword relaxed a little, and the long sword broke into fine dust and merged into his body.
He remembered the direction he had touched her just now and took a few steps forward, "Ni Su?"
There were dead bodies all over the ground, and Ni Su hardly dared to look at them. Even when he went to rescue Jiang Xianming in the alley that night, she did not see it clearly from outside. This was the first time that she faced such a bloody scene so directly.
He was actually very close to her, so close that Ni Su could reach out and tug at his sleeve.
Xu Hexue sensed her strength. The wounds on his body that had not yet healed made it difficult for him to squat down. He felt a little weak.
He was about to speak, but Ni Su suddenly threw herself into his arms.
Xu Hexue's whole body was stiff, but he could feel her trembling. His warm breath was between his clothes, and the sound of her suppressed sobs was very close to him.
Xu Hexue pursed her lips. His posture was a little difficult to maintain. He patted her shoulder gently, silently comforting her.
"Is there a lot of blood on my face..."
She murmured in a trembling voice.
It was the blood of the man who had nearly cut her hand off.
Xu Hexue couldn't see, but he fumbled and gently wiped her face with his sleeve.
Wet clothes, cold fingers, Ni Su's face was held by him. She raised her eyes, but suddenly she felt the touch on her cheek disappear, and his figure turned into mist.
Ni Su immediately looked at her sleeves. The rain was dripping down her chin, and the mist clinging to her sleeves was still there and had not disappeared.
The sound of horse hooves came from far away.
Zhou Ting seemed to see two figures from afar, but for some reason, when he got closer, he could only see the young woman sitting on the ground. There were corpses strewn on the ground in the rain, and she was standing in the winding blood with her eyes lowered.
"Miss Ni!"
Zhou Ting dismounted and walked quickly to her.
Ni Su raised her head, her pale face was covered with rain and dew.
