Chapter 473: 473. A Kind of Yearning

Chapter 473: 473. A Kind of Yearning

Translator: 549690339

Min Rou arrived at the entrance of Su Mansion on horseback, with teary eyes as she dismounted. She had imagined the scene of seeing Mo Yan again, but she never expected to witness “Su Liang” being captured by Mo Yan, while being completely powerless to stop it.

Although Min Rou knew that Su Liang was Mo Yan’s granddaughter, she still couldn’t help tightening her heart, worried that Mo Yan would resort to unscrupulous means to harm Su Liang or force her to do something, or even threaten Gu Ling with Su Liang. Thinking of this, Min Rou felt both worried and distressed, blaming herself for her incapability.

“Let’s go.” Weng Ran held Min Rou’s wrist and entered Su Mansion together.

Qi Yan came to lead the horses. Seeing that four horses had gone out, but only three people had returned, he guessed that something had happened. He looked around cautiously, led the horses in, and then immediately closed the gate.

As for those who saw “Su Liang” save the kidnapped children in the street, some people noticed that the children were safe and sound when they came out of the alley later, but Su Liang did not appear. However, they didn’t think much of it. They knew Su Liang’s Martial Arts skills were strong, and they believed she must have gone to catch the trafficker. Helping others in need was a common thing for the couple of Su Liang and Gu Ling in the capital city.

After tying the horses in the stable, Qi Yan saw Nangong Qian still standing there in a daze, so he took her hand and walked out, asking softly, “What happened?”

Nangong Qian and Yan Shiba, although they saw each other every day, didn’t interact much due to their different personalities. The first time these two had an intersection was in the former Yin Country when Nangong Qian took a fancy to Gu Ling, Qiao Cong and Nangong Lin kidnapped Gu Ling for her, and Yan Shiba helped Su Liang rescue him. Yan Shiba wasn’t a fan of Nangong Qian because of that experience, which left a deep impression on him.

“Shiba... she was captured.” Nangong Qian said softly.

Qi Yan had also guessed, even guessing that Mo Yan had come to the capital city. Few people would be able to easily take Yan Shiba, who was skilled in Martial Arts and experienced in battles. And Qi Yan was well aware of the purpose of Yan Shiba’s recent interest in disguising as Su Liang.

Qi Yan squeezed Nangong Qian’s hand, “Let’s go back first.” What to do next would depend on Su Liang’s decision.

On the way to Yuanming Pavilion, Qi Yan looked left and right. When they arrived at the entrance, he didn’t go in, letting Nangong Qian enter by herself. Then Qi Yan found Zhu Zan, and the two of them meticulously searched every corner of the garden and forest in the mansion, confirming that there were no suspicious people or footprints. This was to prevent Mo Yan from sneaking in without their knowledge.

At this time, the worried Min Rou, who really thought Su Liang had been captured, and Weng Ran, who hadn’t told Min Rou the truth outside for fear of being overheard, had already arrived on the second floor of the Yuanming Pavilion and saw Su Liang.

It was after noon, Zhengzheng, Ji Xiaoshu, and Gu Xiaonuan were all napping, while Su Liang sat alone in the small hall on the second floor reading a book, which could be seen by turning the corner of the staircase.

Min Rou was shocked, “Su... Su Liang?”

Su Liang closed her book upon hearing the sound, and seeing Min Rou’s astonished expression and reddened eyes, she felt a sudden pang in her heart. Noticing that they had gone out together but Yan Shiba hadn’t returned, she guessed something had happened.

“Mo Yan came?” Su Liang put down the book and stood up.

“Yes...it must be him, I saw it!” Min Rou was a bit flustered, “How come...I clearly saw you being...”

“The one who went out with us today was not Su Liang, but Yan Shiba.” Weng Ran sighed.

Min Rou suddenly realized, “No wonder you were laughing at the time... Why did she pretend to be Su Liang? Did you foresee that Mo Yan would come?”

Su Liang nodded, “We did consider that possibility. Yan Shiba disguised as me to protect me; her goal was to be captured by Mo Yan in my place.”

While speaking, Su Liang returned to her room. The children were all sleeping next door, and on the table was a calendar made by Gu Ling, on which the latest date had four words written: “Meeting at sea,” followed by a question mark, since she didn’t know if Mo Yan would really go or not.

Now, the fact had shown that Mo Yan had not gone to meet Gu Ling, but had secretly entered the capital city to capture Su Liang instead.

As for this, it is because Mo Yan guessed or Sheng Yue informed him that Su Liang is the Transmigrator and Gu Ling is not, or Mo Yan doesn’t know that Su Liang is the Transmigrator, but he wants to catch Su Liang to control Gu Ling. It’s unclear, and either possibility exists.

Regardless, Yan Shiba has been waiting for many days, and the goal has been achieved. Even though Yan Shiba didn’t tell Su Liang so much, Su Liang knew what she was thinking and what she was doing.

Su Liang didn’t stop her. Firstly, she couldn’t stop what Yan Shiba wanted to do; secondly, from a rational perspective, what Yan Shiba did was an essential step to prevent their whole family from falling into passivity. It’s not about who is more important between Su Liang and Yan Shiba, but because Mo Yan wants to capture Su Liang, he must not be allowed to succeed, and his goal must be thwarted. It is possible that he already knows Su Liang is the Transmigrator. Thus, by capturing a fake Transmigrator and bringing them back, Su Liang and Gu Ling would have more time to deal with him.

Su Liang picked up the pen and wrote the two characters “Mo Yan” on the calendar.

Upon learning that it was Yan Shiba who was captured, Min Rou breathed a sigh of relief, “As long as you’re not the one captured, that’s good. I believe you can rescue Miss Yan, but if you were the one taken, our family would lose its backbone.”

Weng Ran sighed, “Yeah. Although Gu Ling is our strongest, precisely because of that, Su Liang can’t have an accident; otherwise, he might lose his sanity.”

“I hope that treasure is an object,” Zhengzheng said with great seriousness. “That way, even if it can’t change ownership, master can separate the treasure from Mo Yan.”

“It’s still unclear now.” Su Liang replied, “I can’t go out for the time being, so go find Master Cen Man to send you to class.” Today Mo Yan just took Yan Shiba away, so Su Liang needs to be cautious in case Mo Yan hasn’t gone far yet.

Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu went to find Cen Man.

Cen Man already knew about Yan Shiba being caught and came to talk to Su Liang before leaving with the two children.

After Cen Man left with the two kids, Old White came again.

“If you need to hide for a while, I have a secret place.” Old White told Su Liang earnestly. He had already mentioned it when Gu Ling left, but Su Liang said it wasn’t necessary at that time.

It’s still not necessary now. Su Liang explained the situation to Old White, who sighed deeply, “Old Qiao would scold me, saying I can’t be depended on for serious matters, and yet I can hold Nuannuan at home.”

Su Liang comforted Old White, “The family needs master, and Nuannuan needs protection. Third master may grumble a bit, but he’s just jealous that master can hold Nuannuan. He misses Nuannuan too much. Once this trouble is over, you can meet and have a good fight.”

Old White nodded, “I won’t let him win then. If he wins, he’ll definitely want to take advantage of the situation and be the boss. I don’t necessarily want to be the boss, but since I am, I can’t give it up to him.”

Su Liang chuckled lightly. The friendships between old friends can only be described as childish. Now that old Bai has gone to the south, it’s not that useful; what he could do, Gu Ling and Qiao Cong could do as well. If old Bai really went to replace Qiao Cong, then Qiao Cong would probably be the one who’d be unhappy. This is because his initial trip to Jiaye City was mainly due to his grandson, Qiao Jing, who was stationed there. As long as Qiao Jing didn’t return, Qiao Cong would not go home by himself.

Evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

All the children who had gone out for classes had returned, with no accidents occurring.

Chang’an was ordered to come to Su Mansion to inquire about Su Liang’s well-being. Due to the incident which happened on the streets today, the palace was also aware of it.

Su Liang spoke a few simple words with Chang’an and asked him to report back to Duanmu Chen.

That night, Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu still slept in Su Liang’s room.

First, they coaxed Gu Xiaonuan to sleep, then listened to Su Liang tell them stories. The stories she told were naturally not ordinary stories, but some classic ones from her previous life. Ever since she told them she was a Transmigrator, the two children almost transformed into a hundred thousand “whys.” However, because Su Liang warned them not to tell outsiders about this matter, they were very cautious, only asking her about her previous life when they were alone with her.

After telling today’s story, Su Liang patted the two children and told them to go to sleep. She thought of Gu Ling again; at the beginning, there was a long period of time when Gu Ling would listen to her tell stories every night before going to sleep. At that time, the two of them were not together yet. Thinking about it now, it was really interesting.

At this moment, Gu Ling and Qiao Jing had returned to Jiaye City, preparing to set off again for Xingluo Island.

The wind by the seaside at night was cool, and the boat was ready, with Gu Ling and Qiao Jing both returning to their own faces. They had only brought the two of them and no soldiers.

After setting off, the two were silent for a long time. It was not until Jiaye City was out of sight that Qiao Jing broke the silence, “I suddenly thought of a question today – when did you know that Su Liang was a Transmigrator? Did she tell you, or did you find something unusual?”

Gu Ling’s voice was faint, “The first day I met her.”

Qiao Jing was surprised by this answer and couldn’t help holding his forehead, “Well, perhaps it truly was destiny that made you meet. By the way, when was that day? You met her in Su’s village, right?”

Gu Ling replied, “It was the day we first got married.”

Qiao Jing looked up at the starry sky and sighed, “You really are very lucky. You probably know almost everything about Su Liang’s previous life, right? Since we’re on our way, why not tell me about it? I’m really curious.”

“Not in the mood.” Gu Ling said, kicking Qiao Jing, “If you’re bored and don’t want to sleep, get up and steer the boat.”

Qiao Jing frowned, got up, and took over for Gu Ling, who then went into the cabin and lay down, ready to sleep.

“Are you sure you can sleep? Maybe Mo Yan went to the capital city today to take Su Liang away...” Qiao Jing started to speak but then realized his mistake and shook his head, “That’s just a possibility, not a certainty. Su Liang is so smart, she won’t let Mo Yan succeed easily.”

“I can sleep, you shut up.” As soon as Gu Ling’s words fell, he closed his eyes. The boat gently swayed with the sound of water flowing by. Because of the recent conversation, his mind played the image of Su Liang wearing her wedding dress, her small face looking astonished. He didn’t know if he was talking to himself or speaking to Qiao Jing, “She was sent to me by the heavens.”

Qiao Jing: ...Envious, jealous, hateful. Once he and Min Rou get married, he must show off his affection in front of Gu Ling and Su Liang, making up for the “injury” he has suffered these past few years!

The small boat quickly headed towards Xingluo Island, getting further and further away from the capital city and home, but Gu Ling had already entered the dreamland, reunited with Su Liang...