C164

These words, besides reminding her to be careful of Murong Shan, also reminded her to make a choice between him and her.

Qu Ling stopped and did not turn back.

He then slightly tilted his head and nodded, indicating that he had heard it.

He raised his foot again and continued forward.

Not long after, he disappeared into the rain.

Jin Yi stared intently at the direction that Qu Ling had left in, tears flowing down from her reddened eyes.

If she had a choice, she would naturally choose to follow her young mistress.

But that won't do, the poison in her body had not been cleansed, so even if she escaped to the ends of the earth, Rong Xi had ways to capture her and bring her back.

Rather than repeatedly leaving and coming back to make her sad, a hidden danger that could threaten her at any time, it would be better to stay by Rong Xi's side and help her at a critical moment.

She wasn't as capable as Sir Murong, couldn't even compare to Jiang Huo who was a few years younger than her. She was even afraid of death, but she also wanted to do something for Young Miss.

Thinking about that, she took one last look at the direction Qu Ling left in, took one last deep breath, and turned to walk towards the infirmary.

This time, when she returned to Rong Xi's side, she no longer had to hide and hide.

In fact, Qu Ling was not entirely unconcerned about the choice of the embroidered clothes.

In the end, he was still a companion that had accompanied him for many years.

Now that she had chosen Rong Xi, it would be a lie even if she didn't feel sad.

Qu Ling walked very far, far to the point that he could no longer see the tea house even if he turned his head, hence he stopped in his tracks without worry, and looked back the way he came from.

It was raining heavily today, but not much rain. There were a few pedestrians on the streets.

Qu Ling's gaze swept across the people walking past as if he was looking for something.

However, no matter how much she searched, she couldn't find that familiar figure among the hurrying pedestrians.

Qu Ling's expression turned dark, and she looked down in disappointment.

Just as he was about to walk forward, he raised his head and a familiar bamboo green figure entered his eyes.

In the misty rain of Jiang-Nan town, a gentle, modest, and handsome young master stood under the eaves. His exquisite and beautiful eyes were calm and gentle, and he had an isolated elegance.

This scene was akin to a painting drawn by a master teacher.

Qu Ling looked at him, and in a daze, he thought back to many years ago.

This was the first time he had come to the Qi Empire, the first time he had come to Jiangnan Town, and the first time he had met this handsome young man.

She and Murong Yan ran through the streets and alleys with Jiang Huo and the two little girls in tow, chasing after them anxiously while wearing brocade clothes that were a bit older than them.

Everything seemed to have happened yesterday.

After finishing his business, Murong Yan went back to the tavern to look for Qu Ling. He was worried for her safety and immediately went out to look for her.

When he found this street and saw that she was standing in a daze in the middle of it, he secretly felt relieved.

He did not go over to disturb her, but waited quietly for her to see him.

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long.

Murong Yan met her gaze. As usual, he smiled warmly at her.

As Qu Ling saw this warm smile, the haze in his heart began to dissipate. He walked in front of him and said, "Let's return to the inn."

Murong Yan nodded lightly, took the oil-paper umbrella from her hands and walked with her towards the inn.

"Murong, we'll always be friends, right?"

"Right."

"In the future, if you meet the girl you like, will you leave me behind?"

"Nope."

Murong Yan replied very straightforwardly, but his tone was as gentle as ever.

After a long while, Qu Ling finally responded with an "oh", neither light nor heavy.

Murong Yan lowered his eyes and looked at her, helplessness flashing through his eyes.

On the way out to look for her, he met Jinyi.

The entire day, the rain did not stop, sometimes big and sometimes small.

A group of labourers still risked carrying sandbags on the upper embankment to block the entrance to the embankment.

This place was already dangerous to begin with. Once night fell, one would not be able to clearly see their path, and their chances of encountering danger multiplied by several times.

Near sunset, the Magistrate Zeng ordered the work to be completed.

He didn't know why, but his eyelids were constantly twitching today, and he had a bad feeling about this.

After arranging for his subordinates to bring the workers to eat, he rushed back to the magistrate court without stopping.

He didn't even have the time to take a look at his own wife. After entering the yamen, he rushed to the dungeon at the first possible moment.

When he saw that there was no one in Xiao Jingyue's cell and a guard lying on the ground in front of the cell door, his vision went black.

"My lord!" His follower immediately went forward to support Magistrate Zeng.

The Magistrate Zeng struggled free, his face ashen, he roared: "Immediately go search!"

A follower obeyed and left.

Magistrate Zeng looked at the guard lying on the ground, his bloodshot eyes bloodshot to the point of being terrifying.

His cell was constructed to be like a steel wall, with so many people guarding outside, not even a fly could fly out, he did not expect that Xiao Jingyue would still be able to escape.

In the end, he was being too arrogant.

If he had known earlier, he would have used the chains to capture her!

No, if he had thought too much about it, he would have already taken care of her!

At that time, he would make up some random lie about the Eighth Prince and the General Xiao being lost in water until now, and then send a group of people to accompany them in death. Even if he hardened his heart to let himself lose an arm or a leg, he would still lose his official position, and would be able to protect his wife and children.

But now, he had fled. No matter what he said, it was of no use.

Magistrate Zeng paced back and forth on the ground for a few minutes. Then, he suddenly thought of something and turned to walk back to the place where he had locked Eighth Prince up.

Seeing that Eighth Prince was still in his cell, he heaved a sigh of relief, but at the same time, his emotions became complicated.

After leaving the dungeon, Magistrate Zeng turned around and wanted to head towards the courtyard where Qu Ling was being held.

"Father." A young man suddenly appeared behind Magistrate Zeng.

Magistrate Zeng doted on his wife's one son, whom he had traded half his life for. He immediately turned around and asked gently: "What's wrong?"

The youth said, "Mother wants you to have a meal."

Ever since Madam Zeng used the Soul Borrowing Gu to "come back to life", she had been angry and ignored Magistrate Zeng. Magistrate Zeng was the one who had gone over to talk to her.

This was the first time in the past few months that Madam Zeng had taken the initiative to invite Magistrate Zeng out for a meal.

Magistrate Zeng was overjoyed. Without even thinking, he immediately followed his son to Madam Zeng's courtyard.

Unexpectedly, the gentle township is the Hero's Tomb.

After dinner, the family of three chatted happily, so Magistrate Zeng forgot about going to see Qu Ling.

Magistrate Zeng also did not know about the four female servants who were killed by Madam Ceng personally during the day.

That night, the streets of TongHuai Palace were brightly lit. Squads of soldiers were searching everywhere.

Whether it was a house or a shop, an inn or a restaurant, any place where people could hide was not spared.

The chaotic night had finally passed, but he gained nothing.

The next day, the sky cleared up after a long time.

The matter of building the riverbank became smoother because of the heaven's blessing.

However, Magistrate Zeng did not feel happy at all. Instead, his heart grew more and more anxious, as if something had happened.

These peaceful and perturbed days lasted until the eighth day.

The embankment had finally been repaired. On what should have been a happy and joyous day, a soldier had come to report, "Sir, there are many soldiers outside the city."

The Magistrate Zeng did not even have the chance to speak before another soldier reported, "Sir, I wonder who has opened the city gates, and those soldiers have come in!"

Another soldier added: "It's someone from the General Xiao. This subordinate has seen the General Xiao!"

Magistrate Zeng's face was extremely ugly. After resting for a moment, he calmed down and was about to bring his men to the dungeon.

Before he could step out of the hall, another soldier rushed in and shouted in panic, "My lord, my lord! "Oh no, a lot of rat and snake ants have suddenly appeared in the dungeon, almost injuring our people!"