Chapter 126: True Illness

After entering the city from outside the gate, the Tianjiao Sect had already found an inn to stay.

Zhang Zhe and Feng Mingyu arrived earlier and were already seated in the hall.

Huang Qian brought Jiang Xuening inside, his expression somewhat strange, especially when he glanced at Zhang Zhe.

After a few polite exchanges, Feng Mingyu, noticing Huang Qian’s odd look at Zhang Zhe, signaled him to come aside and asked with a frown, “What’s wrong with you? We’re only suspecting him, how can you be so obvious? If he’s not the spy, and he realizes we’re suspicious, won’t we offend Sect Master as well? Did you find out anything?”

Find out anything?

Huang Qian felt worse just thinking about it.

He thought, I didn’t want to look at Zhang Zhe like that either.

But who would have thought that someone who appeared so upright and proper on the outside would have such a relationship with his own sister on the inside!

It’s simply beastly!

Although Huang Qian was a man of the martial world, he understood the importance of propriety. He held back but couldn’t help saying, “Master Feng, come closer…”

The two began whispering.

Feng Mingyu’s expression changed several times.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xuening, feeling no burden, recalled Huang Qian’s expression when he heard her say “eloping” and couldn’t help but want to laugh.

She clapped her hands and casually looked around the inn.

It was already night when they entered Tongzhou City.

As they walked through the city, most shops were closed, with only a few still open, selling wontons and dumplings in the cold wind. The streets were quiet, with only the distant brothels bustling, nothing like the capital.

This inn also looked a bit shabby.

The paint on the door was peeling, and the furnishings were old. There were no other decorations, except for the bright red blessing papers pasted on the door lintel and beside the stairs, adding a bit of warmth to the cold winter.

Tongzhou was clearly an important stronghold for the Tianjiao Sect. After entering the inn, the sect members visibly relaxed, drinking and chatting.

The innkeeper didn’t ask about their identities and warmly welcomed them.

Fortunately, there were few guests at this time of year, so no one noticed them.

Zhang Zhe wasn’t blind. Since meeting up with everyone after passing through the city gate, he had noticed Huang Qian’s strange look at him, but Jiang Xuening seemed normal.

As Huang Qian and Feng Mingyu went to talk, Zhang Zhe pulled Jiang Xuening over.

His expression became serious.

Zhang Zhe frowned and asked her, “What did Huang Qian ask you on the way?”

Jiang Xuening, with her hands behind her back, looked obedient and said honestly, “He asked what my relationship with you is and why you brought me on such a dangerous mission.”

This was within Zhang Zhe’s expectations.

He asked, “What did you say?”

Jiang Xuening became shy, lightly biting her lip while secretly observing Zhang Zhe’s expression. Seeing his strict and rigid demeanor, just like in her previous life, she felt even more mischievous. She blinked and whispered, “I told Huang Qian…”

She finished speaking.

Zhang Zhe was momentarily stunned.

He looked down at the girl in front of him, unable to react.

Jiang Xuening thought he hadn’t heard clearly and leaned closer to repeat, louder this time, “I said we are eloping —”

Before she could finish the word “eloping,” Zhang Zhe’s expression changed. Since she was very close, he immediately covered her mouth with his hand, his brows furrowed in anger, and scolded, “Nonsense!”

In the biting winter, his palms were warm. Jiang Xuening’s cool cheek absorbed his warmth. Her moist lips brushed against his palm as if unintentionally. For a moment, she wanted to stick out her tongue and lick him, just to see if he would dare cover her mouth again. But Zhang Zhe, that old-fashioned man, would probably be scared to death by her.

So the thought turned over in her mind, but she didn’t carry it out in the end. She just stared at him with big, innocent eyes.

Zhang Zhe realized he had behaved inappropriately and immediately wanted to let go of her. But before letting go, he put on a stern face and warned her, “Don’t say such nonsense again.” Seeing her nod in agreement, he finally released her.

Jiang Xuening pretended not to know what she had done: “Did I say something wrong?”

Her expression was obviously fake.

Zhang Zhe looked at her, his expression serious, and said, “A young lady like you is going to get married someday. A girl’s reputation cannot be ruined. How could you say such reckless things?”

Reputation?

She didn’t want to marry anyone else anyway.

The words “If no one else marries me, then you marry me” were on the tip of her tongue, but she was afraid of angering him even more, so she held them back.

Standing in front of Zhang Zhe, she lowered her head in feigned grievance and softly defended herself, “What else could I say? I couldn’t think of anything else at the moment. What if something went wrong?”

Zhang Zhe knew how clever she was.

Even though he knew that nine-tenths of her grievance was feigned, Zhang Zhe felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t say anything. Instead, a burning pain spread through his heart.

For a moment, he looked at her without speaking.

Jiang Xuening stared at her toes, waiting for him to lose his temper. But when she didn’t hear anything for a long time, she looked up and met a pair of clear eyes that were hidden with a hint of restrained pain. Her heart suddenly tightened, and she remembered the times in her previous life when she had disappointed him.

She had always been carefree, but suddenly she felt a little panicked.

Her playful intentions were immediately dispelled, and she was a little afraid. She carefully reached out and tugged at his clothes, softly admitting her mistake, “It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault. I won’t say it again. You can tell me what to say, and I’ll say it!”

Zhang Zhe fell silent for no apparent reason.

The hand tugging at his sleeve seemed to tug at his heart.

He thought, how could he be angry with her?

Lowering his eyes, he paused and said, “They are starting to suspect me. Tomorrow, we need to go to the branch. Tonight, you should pretend to be sick, and at dawn, go to the Yongding Pharmacy for treatment. There should be someone from the capital looking for you, and the court will send someone to escort you.”

Pretend to be sick tonight and leave in the morning.

Jiang Xuening was stunned, still holding onto his sleeve, unwilling to let go. She instinctively wanted to ask, “What about you?”

But at that moment, Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian approached.

She had to let it go.

It was clear that Feng Mingyu had learned something from Huang Qian. His usual worldly smile now seemed a bit forced, and his eyes scrutinized Jiang Xuening and Zhang Zhe, unexpectedly finding them a well-matched couple.

Unfortunately…

They were siblings.

One holding the other’s sleeve, so close, wasn’t there something going on?

He had thought Zhang Zhe was a gentleman all along, but who knew…

People can’t be judged by their appearance.

Compared to Zhang Zhe’s excuse of “my sister just happened to be going to Tongzhou,” the idea of “eloping” seemed more plausible.

Feng Mingyu naturally wouldn’t point it out, assuming Zhang Zhe also wanted to save face and couldn’t say it outright. So he just cupped his hands and invited Zhang Zhe to the upstairs guest room for a discussion.

Zhang Zhe agreed.

On the way upstairs, he thought of Jiang Xuening’s nonsense with Huang Qian and didn’t want to ruin her reputation. He tried to clarify with Feng Mingyu and Huang Qian, but they both said, “It’s fine, we never misunderstood, you two are innocent,” making Zhang Zhe realize that saying more would only make things worse.

In the end, he could only remain silent.

Jiang Xuening couldn’t follow them upstairs for the discussion, so she stayed downstairs, watching Zhang Zhe’s figure disappear around the corner before turning to get something to eat at the inn.

But Xiao Bao, with his high ponytail, had already noticed her.

As soon as she turned, he waved to her from a table, smiling warmly and calling out, “Sister, come over here, there’s hot soup and roasted pigeon!”

Jiang Xuening felt that this child had been quite considerate of her along the way.

Sometimes he handed her water, sometimes dry food. Although she was always suspicious of the black ink stain on his hand the first night they met, she couldn’t refuse and sat down, thanking him, “Thank you.”

---

The cold stars were in the sky, and the north wind was wailing.

Duke Xiao Yuan led a large group of men, finally arriving outside Tongzhou City.

The vanguard reined in their horses outside the city and came to report.

The young Xiao Ye, also armed with a sword, looked at the dark city ahead and couldn’t help but laugh, full of pride, “Father is wise. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. What Tianjiao Sect heroes? Give them a hundred or eighty taels of silver, and they’ll even reveal their lair! With our numbers, capturing these rebels is like catching turtles in a jar, easy as pie!”

“Hahaha…”

Xiao Yuan hadn’t led troops in many years, but this time he had donned his general’s attire, stroking his beard and laughing, “This time, capturing the rebels is a small matter. The important thing is to show loyalty to the emperor and make a contribution, so we must act before Grand Preceptor Xie. It’s not that I dislike him, but the matter is urgent. Ye’er, do you know what’s outside Tongzhou City?”

He pointed southeast.

Xiao Ye followed his direction, seeing nothing in the dark sky, but answered, “It’s the Tongzhou camp with ten thousand troops.”

Xiao Yuan’s eyes sharpened.

He looked in that direction, like an eagle ready to strike, and said, “With Yan Mu’s fall and the Marquis of Yongyi gone, the Tongzhou camp’s ten thousand troops need a new commander. The emperor is considering it. But you know, our Xiao family is controversial in the court, and the empress dowager can’t favor us too much, so everything needs a plausible reason. Now is the critical moment. Destroying the Tianjiao Sect’s Tongzhou branch, capturing or killing the rebels, will be a great achievement!”

Xiao Ye, a boy lacking depth, couldn’t contain his excitement and said, “Then let’s enter the city and kill them all!”

Xiao Yuan laughed, “No rush.”

He then ordered the soldiers to dismount and rest, saying, “No rush. We’ll wait until tomorrow when the Tianjiao Sect’s two groups and the escaped prisoners gather, then we’ll catch them all in one go and do it beautifully.”

Xiao Ye immediately said, “Father is wise!”

Xiao Yuan couldn’t help but recall his glorious days of commanding three armies, laughing proudly.

---

Jiang Xuening, used to a pampered life, had been traveling uncomfortably for days. Finally relaxing at the inn, she ate more of the food prepared there. After Xiao Bao attended to her, he joined the Tianjiao Sect members in playing dice.

Remembering Zhang Zhe’s words, she went upstairs, thinking of ways to pretend to be sick.

As a child in the countryside, she had seen many traveling doctors and remembered many odd things.

A fraudulent Taoist had taught her a trick.

Putting a potato under her armpit would make her pulse irregular, like having a strange illness.

Jiang Xuening thought that to catch a wolf, one must be willing to sacrifice. To fake illness convincingly, she first bolted the door, took off her warm outer robe, opened the window, and stood in the cold wind. Soon, her face turned pale, and she shivered. When the noise outside died down, she quietly opened the door and sneaked downstairs to find the kitchen.

Late at night, everything was quiet.

Although they didn’t know exactly where the Tianjiao Sect’s branch was in Tongzhou, the group was cautious about tomorrow’s plans and didn’t stay up late, all going to rest.

Only the first room was still lit.

Zhang Zhe was probably still talking with Huang Qian and Feng Mingyu.

All inns had similar layouts.

Jiang Xuening carefully made her way to the kitchen, holding her breath and looking around to make sure no one was there. She slowly pushed open the two doors, slipped inside, and closed them behind her.

The air was filled with the smell of alcohol.

It was normal for a kitchen to have alcohol, so she didn’t pay much attention.

But unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around, a strong hand grabbed her neck, another hand quickly covered her mouth, and she was pushed against the door!

Jiang Xuening was terrified!

But in the dim light coming through the slightly open door, she recognized the person—

It was Meng Yang!

His eyes were dark, his lips tightly pressed, his face full of killing intent. But feeling the soft skin under his hand, he realized it was a woman and frowned, recognizing her: “It’s you?”

Jiang Xuening had felt danger when she first met him in prison.

However, hearing him talk about the Marquis of Yongyi by the campfire had made her see him in a new light. Now, she didn’t dare speak, only nodding.

Meng Yang, with messy hair, looked at her for a moment, seeing she had no intention of screaming, and let her go, asking, “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Xuening lied, “I was hungry and came to find something to eat.”

Meng Yang snorted, not sure if he believed her, and turned to grab a wine jar from the stove in the dark.

Jiang Xuening realized it was a misunderstanding.

He had just come to find some wine in the middle of the night.

She didn’t want to talk to him and hesitated to find something with him there. In the faint light, she found a potato but hesitated to take it.

Unexpectedly, Meng Yang glanced at her in the dark, his eyes sharp, and said, “A noble lady using such a trick to fake illness?”

Jiang Xuening was horrified!

Meng Yang, drinking his wine, didn’t seem to care, saying, “You people all have your own agendas. Take the potato and leave, don’t bother me drinking.”

Jiang Xuening went from shock to surprise.

She thought for a moment, realizing he was indeed strange and didn’t seem to be allying with the Tianjiao Sect. He was probably a rogue who didn’t care about anyone. So she decided to take the potato and leave.

But as she turned to leave, she hesitated.

Jiang Xuening looked back at the shadow in the darkness, considering the thought that had just crossed her mind, but hesitated.

Since his wife’s death, he had lived like a walking corpse, feeling no guilt after killing his entire family. In prison, he had little access to alcohol.

Master Xie in the capital often sent people to bring him wine.

But Meng Yang knew that wine from seemingly good people was often undrinkable, so he never touched it.

He laughed inexplicably and, seeing Jiang Xuening not leaving, said, “You’re pretending to be sick to escape, right? Isn’t that Master Zhang your lover? Why not leave together?”

Jiang Xuening replied, “It’s because he’s not leaving that I want to ask if Master Meng could help.”

Meng Yang, once from a wealthy family, hadn’t been called “Master Meng” in a long time.

He found it amusing, “You two are star-crossed lovers.”

Jiang Xuening thought that if she and Zhang Zhe were truly star-crossed lovers, it would be worth it, making her rebirth meaningful. But Zhang Zhe was like the moon in the sky to her, unreachable even from the highest tower.

She felt down but didn’t deny her feelings.

She said, “I do have feelings for Master Zhang. I heard you were from a good family and committed a serious crime to avenge your wife. Hearing you speak for the Marquis of Yongyi by the campfire, I don’t think you’re truly a villain. I also heard you’re highly skilled, and tomorrow may be dangerous. So, I boldly ask if you could protect him. Is there anything I can do for you in return?”

Asking a criminal to protect a court official?

Meng Yang almost laughed.

But seeing the girl’s sincerity, he remembered someone who had once treated him genuinely. He fell silent, thinking of Zhang Zhe, and after a long time, said, “You’re willing to do anything for Master Zhang, but what if he’s hiding something from you?”

His late wife had hidden many things from him.

He later realized those were “burdens.”

Jiang Xuening didn’t expect such a question from Meng Yang and was puzzled.

What could Zhang Zhe be hiding from her?

To Zhang Zhe, she was probably just a troublesome young lady, giving him headaches and barely speaking a few words. They weren’t close. It was normal for her not to know much about Zhang Zhe, but he was straightforward, not deliberately hiding anything.

She said, “How could that be?”

Meng Yang laughed strangely.

But he said nothing more, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Jiang Xuening waited for a while without hearing a response, feeling frustrated, and stomped her foot before leaving.

She slipped back upstairs with the potato and lay down fully clothed.

She planned to sleep for a while and pretend to be sick at dawn, but in the middle of the night, she felt a chill and severe abdominal pain, waking up in discomfort, her forehead covered in cold sweat, feeling as if she had a serious illness!

Standing by the window in the wind should have only caused a slight cold, how could it suddenly be this bad?

She staggered to her feet, finding her limbs weak.

No…

She wasn’t pretending to be sick; she was really sick!

Fear gripped her heart. She took a few steps and accidentally knocked over a cup, which fell to the ground with a loud crash, echoing in the pre-dawn silence and alarming nearby people.

Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Zhang Zhe’s voice asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Xuening tried to speak, but her throat was hoarse.

Then there was a loud bang as someone kicked the door open, and three or five people rushed in, including Xiao Bao, who had invited her to eat earlier. Seeing her pale face, he shouted, “Sister, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Previous

Next