Back to the Countryside

 

 

Back to the Countryside

Chapter 88:得知

Had learned (of something) 

“This young master, he will not need you to take care of him.” Xiao Yu Heng seized the wrist of that person. The smile on his seductive face was still frivolous as before. However, the tone of his voice did not allow any rejection. 

 

He was about to catch that beauty but he was cut off halfway. That young master was really annoyed so he waved his hand and shook it off, “Who are you? How dare you meddle in my business?!”

 

Hearing him speak to him like this, Xiao Yu Heng smiled even more malicious. He stretched out his hand toward He Ling’s waist and said, “I am his husband. Do you really want to buy us a drink?”

 

As soon as he said that, several men in black leapt out of nowhere, standing quietly behind him. Their eyes were very fierce, just standing there made people feel their life was in danger. 

 

“What are you guys going to do? Our family’s young master’s father is the honorable prefectural magistrate, aren’t you afraid of being arrested?” The servant boy hurriedly protected his family’s master by standing in front of him. 

Are you kidding me? This was the only child of his excellency county magistrate, if he was hurt then it would be the end of him!

 

That young master looked attentively at the other party with a cold face. The person in front of him was obviously a man from Jiang Hu, full of Jiang Hu aura. These people had always been reckless and willful, not necessarily afraid of his father.

 

“The Prefect (Governor)?” Xiao Yu Heng raised his eyebrows in a casual manner. He said it lightly like the wind and indifferently like the cloud, “Who is the governor here? Maybe there are still some secrets about him in our Qing Feng Xi Yu Pavilion! (aka House / Mansion of Light Breeze and Rain)”

 

Hearing these words of his, that young master’s pupils shrank. Even if he was not from Jiang Hu, he had heard about the reputation of the Light Breeze and Rain Pavilion, where they gathered information from all over the world and knew many secrets that were not known to anyone,  including those secrets of many government / court officials.

 

How many of those who served in the government were completely clean? Once those secrets were revealed, they were dead, without a place to be buried, without the possibility of turning over a new leaf. 

        

After considering all the pros and cons, the young master looked at He Ling who was being protected, cupped both of his hands in greeting and said with a smile, “I (在下: I in humble form ) just want to do my best as a host in this friendship but if both of you are not available, then I will leave it at that.”

 

“Gongzi’s kindness, we appreciate it!” The other party was still sensible (know how to behave), so Xiao Yu Heng naturally did not waste his time on him. He nodded at him which could be considered as a way to forget his grudge.

 

(By saying I appreciate your kindness is the conventional way or reply to turn down an offer.) 

 

When he saw that young master had gone far away, He Ling immediately pushed away his hand that encircled him. Just now, he did not make a sound because the other party could be regarded as helping himself but now he did not need to do that anymore.

 

“This could be considered as after you used someone then throwing it away? (after you’re done with it?)” Seeing that he immediately distanced himself from him, Xiao Yu Heng sighed as if he was sad, “So heartless as always!”

 

He Ling closed his eyes to relieve his dizzy head. He had been holding out (or keeping on) in spite of his illness but when he suddenly relaxed, all kinds of physical discomfort became apparent, “How come Xiao Gongzi is here?”

 

“That’s a long story, it’s not very convenient to talk about it here. How about we find a place to sit down and talk about it in detail?” This kind of street full of people coming and going was not a good place to talk.

 

He Ling was just about to open his mouth to say that they should go to the inn where he was staying when right before his eyes were turned black and his legs became too weak to hold himself up.

 

While he was talking, the person in front of him suddenly fell backwards, startling Xiao Yu Heng. He reached out and caught his body. He immediately saw that his face was flushed red and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He was obviously having a fever.

 

In this cold and deadly weather, he had travelled so far on his own. It would be strange if he did not fall ill. With a short leap, he picked the person up into his arms and hurried away from that place.

    

In a gentle shaking, He Ling regained his consciousness once again. He opened his eyes and looked somewhat blankly at his surroundings. He seemed to be inside a carriage.

 

“Are you okay?” Xiao Yu Heng leaned over and met his eyes, reaching out to test the temperature on his forehead, “It’s still a little hot. Do you want to eat something?”

 

He Ling shook his head and tried to sit up, but he had no strength. The person beside him helped him up and put some soft pillows behind him for him to lean on. Only then, he opened his mouth and asked, “Where are we going?”

 

Xiao Yu Heng lifted the kettle simmering on the small stove and poured him a cup of water, “The place you were at earlier has deviated from the direction to Qi Du Valley. We are now heading back there again.”

 

After taking a sip of water, his somewhat dry and sore throat was moisturized so he felt so much comfortable, “At that time, I was inside the heavy snow and I didn’t know the direction at all. It was always Mu Yan who led me away. Oh that’s right, where is Mu Yan? Did you take him with you?!”

 

Xiao Yu Heng pushed his excited body to sit back. He smiled as he said, “Don’t worry! I already had someone go to the inn where you are staying. Mu following behind the carriage.”

              

This horse was just as arrogant as his master, no matter what, the horse would not let his people touch him, that was why he and his people let the horse alone walk behind them. 

 

Only then, did He Ling put his mind at ease, remembering the conversation he previously had with the other man before he passed out, then he asked, “How did Xiao Gongzi happen to show up there that coincidentally? Do you have some matters that need to be handled?”

 

“No.” Xiao Yu Heng paused slightly and said something that made him surprise, 

“I specially come to look for you.”

 

“Looking for me?” That made him even more surprised, “How did you know that I was here? And why are you looking for me?”

 

His reaction was clearly predicted by Xiao Yu Heng. He twirled the hair on his chest with his fingers as he seemed to be organizing his words. After a long time, he said, “In fact, this time, this incident is somehow related to me …”

 

Apart from recruiting talents and gathering the information, the Light Wind and Rain House (Organization) also trained assassins. As long as you could afford the silver, you could hire them to help you do what you wanted to do.

 

The group of men in black that make a surprise attack on He Ling and the others came from his place. The mission they took on was to take He Ling away unharmed and as for the others, kill them if they could!

 

It was only two days ago that Xiao Yu Heng learned of this matter. Afterward, he then rushed over here as soon as possible (the literal one used 快马加鞭: to spur the horse to full speed / at top speed). By the time he found his men who performed the mission, He Ling had already escaped. He searched all the way until he found the hut where He Ling had stayed before. He then went to the nearest city based on his prediction. 

 

“I picked it up in the hut, I think it’s yours.” He took out a jade hairpin out of his sleeve and handed it over to the other party. It was because of this that he was able to conclude that the other party had stayed there before, “Fortunately, I got there in time, otherwise Qi Yue would have turned my pavilion upside down later!”

 

If He Ling was taken away by that pampered young master, there was no need to think about the consequences at all since he would not have been able or even hope to live in peace anymore. 

 

He Ling took the hairpin, previously his mind had been so muddled. He didn’t even know that he had lost the hairpin that his Xiang Gong had given to him, but luckily it was picked up and returned to him again.

 

“Before I found my men, I met Shen Juming and Yun Su in another city. Qi Yue thought you had been taken to Qi Du Valley and so he chased after them alone. We are now heading that way too. Perhaps we could even run into each other!” Only by handing He Ling over into his hand safely, only then could the other side slightly take his anger away, ba!  

Xiao Yu Heng sighed, this was the first time he had ever canceled a business! 

 

Hearing him say this, He Ling was also relieved. He asked, “How about Yun Shi Di? He seemed to have been injured before, is he alright?”

 

“Him? Very good!” Xiao Yu Heng leaned back against the wall of the carriage, revealing a rather playful smile, “Now that he’s already achieved a happy result with a certain someone. It’s precisely the time to be proud and happy!”

 

[春风得意 (pinyin is chūn fēng dé yì) meaning:  ‘A warm spring breeze’ is very suitable for a person’s mind. To describe a person be flushed with success or proud of one’s success (in exams, promotion etc)]

                

He Ling was stunned for a moment before he understood what it meant. Inside his heart, he was happy for him, for the other party had suffered hardship because of (unrequited) love for a long time, since now he could get what he wanted. Really, nothing couldn’t be better! 

 

“You are sick now, so you should not sit for too long. It is better to lie down and rest.”

Seeing that his face still did not look good, Xiao Yu Heng took away the soft pillow from behind him and helped strengthen his shoulders, “You don’t need to worry about Qi Yue’s side! I have already sent someone to deliver the news to him.”

 

He Ling did not try to be brave. He followed his lead and lay down. After learning that the others were all safe and sound and there were also people beside him to escort him so he did not have to keep his nerves tense, he then closed his eyes to rest with ease. 

 

After smoothly pulling the blanket over him, Xiao Yu Heng’s hand stopped. How could he serve someone so smoothly?

He looked down and laughed lightly, then withdrew his hand as he properly sat back, no longer distracted by the person lying there.

 

Qi Yue stopped in a small town that wasn’t very bustling and found a teahouse to rest for a while. Having rushed for so many days, he still couldn’t find any trace at all, probably because they were too good at hiding or because they were always in the open field/ wilderness and rarely stayed in the towns.

 

For him, none of it was considered to be good news. Ah Ling’s physical condition would suffer a lot if he kept staying in the outdoor kind of life. He slammed his cup of tea down on the table while his brow knotted into one. 

 

With each day passed, the worry in his heart grew even more. Even though he knew that the other party would not let his little Fu Lang in danger in order to threaten him, he still could not stop worrying. He Ling had never left his side and disappeared from his sight for so long since they had been married, even more so when he was pregnant, under this kind of situation. 

 

While his mind was full of thought, a man with an ordinary face and ordinary clothes, who could not be found again if he was put in the crowd, stopped at his table and said with a clasped fist (cup one’s fist in the other hand before the chest as a gesture of greeting), “Are you Qi Yue, Qi Gongzi?”

 

Qi Yue raised his head, looked at him up and down several times but he did not have any impression at all about this person, “Who are you?”

 

“I am here to deliver the letter for this young master.” The man did not announce (introduce) himself but took out a letter from his pocket and handed it over, “This is what my master has given to me (to send it to you), you will understand when you read it.”

 

Qi Yue could immediately tell if there was something on the letter that should not be put on it but this one letter in front of him was obviously not. He lifted his hand and took it, opening it without haste.

 

When he saw the contents of the letter, he instantly changed his face. He was so excited that his hands were shaking a little. Repeatedly, he checked the letter several times to make sure that every word on it was true.

 

“Master said that after you receive the letter, you only need to wait where you are right now and he will bring the person over in a few days.” The man’s tone did not have ups and downs, passed on the orders from above calmly. 

 

“Where is he?!” Qi Yue completely didn’t care what he just said earlier. Now, how could he feel at ease, sit around and wait in here? “From which direction Xiao Yu Heng’s side comes over?”

 

As if anticipating his inquiry, that man pulled another piece of paper out of his sleeve, “The writing on top of it is the position where they are now. They should have already come this way too.”

 

Xiao Yu Heng had given him this note along with the letter paper at the time when he arrived. He said that if the other party asked where he was, he should just give him the note.

 

Qi Yue snatched that slip of paper away from him without even opening it and threw the silver money on the table, swinging his sleeves up and went out of the door. Now, he only wished he could be in front of his little Fu Lang right away.

 

As soon as he left the teahouse, he took his horse and sat on it, clutching the horse’s belly then he was gone! After being separated for so many days, finally he could get his A Ling back!

 

The author has something to say: Raise your paws baby, if you have guessed it correctly!