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墨書 Inktalez
Yun Kong was taken aback for a moment, then smiled faintly, thinking that this woman must be starving.
Without saying a word, he handed the fish in his hand to Mei Shuang and turned to walk away. After a short while, when he returned, he had several larger fish and some wild fruits in his hands.
Sitting under a large tree, with a bonfire set up, they enjoyed delicious grilled fish. Mei Shuang felt that the fright from earlier had mostly subsided.
As she bit into her third fish, Yun Kong was still grilling, while the cooked fish beside him remained untouched.
"Why aren't you eating?" Mei Shuang glanced over. "There are eight fish in total. I eat four, you eat four; that's fair. Why aren't you eating?"
Yun Kong replied lightly, "I'm not hungry."
"......"
If you don't want to eat, then don't. Mei Shuang tossed aside the fish bones in her hand and grabbed another large piece, just as she stuffed it into her mouth when she heard Yun Kong softly say, "Earlier, I'm sorry..."
Mei Shuang turned to look at him, feeling angry at his pretentious demeanor. She asked irritably, "What's wrong?"
"The ones who truly wanted to kill you were those people later on..." Yun Kong poked at the fire pit and casually placed the remaining fish over the flames.
Mei Shuang was stunned for a moment, pondering Yun Kong's meaning before asking back, "Aren't they your accomplices?"
"Yes... and no..."
Unable to tolerate Yun Kong's ambiguity any longer, Mei Shuang angrily threw the fish in her hand into the fire pit, causing sparks to fly and startling Yun Kong.
Yun Kong's beautiful brows furrowed in confusion as he looked up.
Mei Shuang coldly said, "Yun Kong, let's be straightforward. I know you're with Queen Meiru. Running into you here is my misfortune! Earlier, thanks to your warning at Dazhao Temple Palace that made me lower my guard against you, now I regret trusting you and have ended up being chased like this..."
Yun Kong pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze without speaking.
Mei Shuang continued, "Since I entered the palace, Mei Ru has spared no effort to put me to death. To be honest, I still don't understand why Mei Ru hates me so deeply. If it's for the position of Empress, she has already obtained it and can now enjoy boundless glory as the mother of the nation. What more could she want? Even after I was cast into the Cold Palace and endured endless torment, she never let up on me... Do you know? At Dazhao Temple, she almost poisoned me; fortunately, you reminded me to be careful. In fact, even without your note warning me about 'brothers turning against each other,' I would have known it was her doing. Now that I'm in your hands, Yun Kong, it seems you don't intend to kill me. I want to ask you, what exactly do you plan to do?"
Yun Kong simply listened quietly while continuing to roast the remaining fish. The campfire was strong, and soon the fish was sizzling with an enticing golden hue on both sides, filling the air with a delicious aroma that made Mei Shuang's mouth water.
After a long internal struggle, Mei Shuang finally sat down, took a fish from the rack herself, and began to eat.
Suddenly, Mei Shuang thought of something and wiped the grease from her mouth, asking, "Yun Kong, why haven't your people arrived yet? Are you planning to take me back secretly to claim credit for yourself?"
"Claim credit?" Yun Kong looked up and shook his head. "If I hadn't used you as a human shield just now, they would have thought I was protecting you. My actions made them believe that you are in my hands and that they can rest easy."
"What?" Mei Shuang exclaimed in surprise, her mouth agape as a piece of fish fell from her bite. "Are you saying you put me in front of you as a shield just to show your companions? To let them know that you and I have nothing to do with each other? That you don't care about my life or death at all?"
Yun Kong nodded. "You could say that..."
Mei Shuang furrowed her brows and pondered for a moment. "What kind of reasoning is this?"
Yun Kong fell silent again.
Mei Shuang tentatively asked, "So does this mean they won't chase after us?"
Yun Kong looked at the sky and shook his head. "It's hard to say... If they don't see you, they will definitely continue to pursue... Right now, several groups are looking for you; it's just a matter of who acts faster."
Mei Shuang suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, dropping the fish in her hand onto the ground. "Then what should we do?"
It had only been a few days since leaving the palace, and now she had attracted deadly trouble again?
It seemed that Xiao Luo had already realized that life outside the palace would be fraught with difficulties when he warned her to be 'careful in everything' before she left.
If she had known leaving the palace would be so perilous, why had she been so eager to go out? Staying in the palace would have been better; at least there she would have been safer.
Now everything was beyond her control!
Looking at Mei Shuang's conflicted expression, Yun Kong put away the remaining fish and went over to flatter her, saying, "Let's go... We must head up the mountain before dark..."
"Up the mountain? I want to go to Jiangnan!" Mei Shuang declared firmly.
"Your whereabouts have already been exposed. The Government must have set up checkpoints at all major transportation routes; you won't be able to go anywhere."
"Checkpoints?" Mei Shuang scoffed. "That's what the Government set up for you, not for me."
Ignoring Mei Shuang's words, Yun Kong looked around as if speaking to himself. "This place looks beautiful during the day, but at night it’s a different scene. Wild wolves often roam here in search of food... If you don't leave, I will."
Reluctantly, Mei Shuang climbed onto the horse's back, and this time Yun Kong sat behind her. "It's more comfortable sitting in front."
"Yun Kong, I will trust you one more time. If you deceive me, may lightning strike you!"
Before she finished speaking, a strong wind swept through the forest, blowing off the scarf from Mei Shuang's head. Her long hair cascaded down, covering her shoulders and brushing against Yun Kong's face...
At Lin Residence.
At dawn, Lord Xu led the Government officials back home with their heads hung low.
Furious about the failure of the meticulously planned operation that night, Prefect Lord Xu vented his anger by first beating his subordinate who had gone to capture Mei Shuang and then berating Lord Lu for letting Mei Shuang escape in the small grove.
After calming down, Lord Xu urgently made a series of arrangements. All roads out of Qizhou, whether main roads or paths, were to be blocked with checkpoints. Everyone coming through would be thoroughly checked; any man would have to prove his identity to prevent Mei Shuang from disguising herself as a man. The riverside ferry was also under strict surveillance.
I refuse to believe that under such tight monitoring, she can still fly away.
Despite these meticulous arrangements seeming foolproof, Lord Xu still felt uneasy. Just moments ago, Superior Seal had sent a letter inquiring about the results. He found it hard to speak up, fearing that he might mess things up instead of handling them well and lose his position.
With heavy thoughts weighing on him, Lord Xu paced back and forth in his room and sighed, "It's strange; how much power can a woman have to hide? Lin Yuanwai, you're most familiar with this place; where do you think she could be hiding?"
Lin Yuan forced a smile. With Qizhou being so vast, finding a person was like searching for a needle in a haystack. How could he possibly know?
Seeing Lin Yuan frowning deeply, Lord Xu's eyes lit up as he asked, "Lin Yuan, you have spent some days with Lin Shoutong. Think about it, where might she go?"
Lin Yuan replied honestly, "Lin Shoutong has been saying she wants to go to Jiangnan..."
"She won't be able to go to Jiangnan..." Lord Xu lightly tapped his fingers on the table. "Think again, did she mention any other places she could go?"
"Lin Shoutong said she has no relatives here, so it seems she has nowhere else to go." Lin Yuan recalled the moments with Mei Shuang, her cheerful smile filling his mind.
He was almost at his wit's end. Although he always felt that Lin Shoutong was somewhat mysterious, he couldn't understand why such an important official would personally inquire about her.
Lin Shoutong, you are in big trouble. Where on earth are you?
Lord Xu was at a loss. Seeing Lord Lu silent beside him, he recalled the corpses in the small forest and sighed. This was indeed not an easy task.
Who would have thought this woman, with unparalleled martial arts and a ruthless heart, could single-handedly defeat the capable Lord Lu and his men and successfully escape?
Thinking of this, he coldly remarked, "Lord Lu, this is your negligence. This woman is so difficult to deal with, yet you were unprepared and acted rashly..."
Lord Lu pondered for a moment before saying, "It's not that I seek credit; she was taken hostage, which made me cautious..."
"Taken hostage?" Lord Xu spat out a mouthful of hot tea, his eyes nearly popping out. "She wasn't alone? Who took her hostage?"
"A monk. Moreover, they had accomplices... likely to assist them..."
"A monk?!" Lord Xu's eyes widened in shock as he murmured for a long time, "Even monks are involved? This has become complicated... really complicated..."
Suddenly, his eyes brightened as he clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Very good! Very good! Since it's a monk, there will be leads to follow... Lord Lu, your contribution is not small! Someone, quickly inform all temples to find any suspicious monks for me..."
Qizhou is only a few hundred miles from the capital city, with a continuous mountain range to the west. Some areas are steep and treacherous, making it a good place for a brief hideaway.
Yun Kong did not dare to delay and hurried on horseback, arriving at the foot of the mountain before sunset.
Mei Shuang looked up and saw the cliff. Although it was lush and green, the height was daunting, with some places completely bare, almost vertical, making her feel a bit dizzy.
"Are we really going to spend the night on this mountain?" She gazed up for a long time but could not find anywhere suitable to take shelter.
Yun Kong examined the surrounding terrain, dismounted, and reached out to help Mei Shuang down. He nodded, "Yes, to evade the pursuit of the officials, this is our only option."
As Mei Shuang followed Yun Kong up the mountain, she couldn't help but grumble, "What exactly did you do to attract the officials' attention? Why do I have to suffer because of you? If it weren't for you, I would have already been on a boat heading to Jiangnan..."
Yun Kong focused intently on clearing the grass on the mountain with a stick and did not respond.
Feeling bored, Mei Shuang mocked him, "You’re not involved with Queen Meiru, are you? To take the Empress right under the Emperor's nose—Yun Kong, you really have some skills."
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