diymy Chapter 76 Exile
Chapter 76 Exile
Chapter 76 Wandering (Part 1)
Inside the music room, the Snow Woman was peering out through the crack in the door.
She had been in this position for quite a while, leaning slightly forward, one hand holding onto the door frame and the other pressing down on her skirt, as if afraid of making a sound.
The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard from the front yard from east to west, and then gradually faded away from west to west. However, none of them came to inform us that the music room was dark and the people outside probably thought that the Snow Maiden was already asleep, so they did not come to disturb her.
Besides, there was no need to tell her what had happened, but the sudden commotion in the mansion late at night, and the fact that Jingni had also gone out, made the little maid uneasy.
She has been guarding this place ever since Jingni left.
Zhao Heng was still fast asleep on the bed, his breathing sometimes light and sometimes heavy, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he couldn't find peace even in his dreams.
Every now and then, the snow woman would turn back to look at him, making sure his chest was still rising and falling, before turning back to continue keeping watch.
She didn't know where Jingni had gone, when she would return, or even if she would ever come back.
She stayed there, unable to do anything but look at the empty corridor and wait.
After some time, a slight noise came from behind.
The snow woman suddenly turned her head around.
But Zhao Heng had woken up and changed his position on the couch. He didn't open his eyes, but simply turned his head from one side to the other and placed his hand on his forehead. His lips moved slightly, as if he were talking in his sleep, or perhaps he was just thirsty.
The snow woman tiptoed back from the door, squatted down by the tatami mat, her knees on the ground, her hands on the edge of the tatami mat, and peered at his face.
The room was dimly lit, and his face appeared and disappeared in the faint light filtering in from outside. His still very youthful face was almost transparently white, and his lips were also pale, but his breathing was more even than before.
The snow maiden looked at him for a moment, and seeing that he still hadn't opened his eyes, she hesitated for a moment, then called out softly, "Young master? Young master—"
Zhao Heng's eyelashes trembled, then he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on the Snow Maiden's face for a moment before gradually clearing.
Seeing that he was awake, the Snow Woman initially breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed up again. She quickly glanced towards the door, making sure there was no movement, before moving closer and asking in a very low voice, "Can you still walk?"
Zhao Heng looked slightly puzzled, his brows furrowing slightly.
Thinking he hadn't heard her clearly, the Snow Woman leaned closer, almost touching her lips to his ear, and said, word by word, "While that person hasn't returned yet, I'll lie down on the couch and pretend to be you. Anyway, there are no lights in the room, and we can't see from outside. Once you get out, with your abilities, you'll definitely find someone who can cure the poison—"
As she spoke, her pace quickened, as if she had rehearsed the plan in her mind countless times and was finally pouring it out in one breath. Every word was spoken with eagerness, as if she was afraid that if she spoke too slowly she would regret it, or as if she was afraid that if she spoke too slowly she would not have the chance to finish.
After hearing this, Zhao Heng was taken aback for a moment, then propped himself up on the couch. He shifted his body to steady his back, and then quietly looked at her.
The snow woman felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, lowered her eyes, and unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes. She raised her head again, this time with a hint of urgency in her voice: "I'm telling the truth. Think about it, I'm not someone important, what value do I have to her? Why would she kill me? You're different—"
"How am I different?"
The snow woman pursed her lips, then repeated, "Can you still walk?"
Zhao Heng looked into her light blue eyes, which held a hint of anxiety and fear, but she refused to show it on her face. Her small face was tense, and her chin was slightly raised, as if she were competing with someone.
He chuckled softly.
The Snow Woman grew even more anxious, frowned, and was about to say something when she suddenly seemed to remember something. She stood up again, quickly walked back to the door, and continued to peek out through the crack in the door.
She held her breath and lowered her voice, continuing, "You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine anyway—"
She stopped talking halfway through her sentence, then slowly turned around and looked behind her.
But then she saw Jingni already standing behind her, having entered at some point. The window was half-open, letting in a cool night breeze.
The snow woman's face gradually paled, but she remained silent, her lips pressed together. Her hand clenched tightly in her sleeve, gripping the iron needle that had always been hidden there. It was the needle she used to mend clothes, thin and sharp, the only thing she had that could be used as a weapon.
She took two steps back and stood in front of the bed. Her body stood between Zhao Heng and Jing Ni, like a thin bamboo pole standing in a strong wind.
Zhao Heng sighed, then looked at Jing Ni and asked, "Did your journey, young lady, go smoothly?"
Jingni glanced at Xue Nu, then walked to the table, took out a small porcelain bottle from her bosom, and placed it on the table.
"This is the antidote for what you just took," she said.
The Snow Maiden froze, motionless for a moment. She looked at the small porcelain bottle, then at Jing Ni, then at Zhao Heng. Her eyes first showed surprise, then disbelief, and finally a hint of joy surfaced in them.
She turned to look at Zhao Heng. Zhao Heng gently raised his chin, gesturing for her to take it.
Snow Maiden quickly ran over, grabbed the bottle, opened it, and saw that there were exactly two pills inside. She first walked to the bedside, preparing to feed them to Zhao Heng, but then paused, glanced at Jing Ni with some wariness, and ate one herself first.
Jing Ni's expression didn't change much.
After waiting a while and confirming that everything was alright, Xue Nu walked to the bedside and fed the remaining pill to Zhao Heng. She held the back of his head, brought the pill to his lips, and watched him open his mouth and swallow before letting go.
Then she resealed the porcelain bottle, placed it back on the table, retreated to the edge of the couch, and stood in front of Zhao Heng. She then clenched the needle hidden in her sleeve.
Jingni casually picked up the bottle and put it back in her arms, then began pacing back and forth in the room, as if she was thinking about something.
Zhao Su was quite shrewd, and very calculating. Zhao had placed his bet on him, which was overly bold, but ultimately he wasn't disappointed. Now, leaning back on the couch, he casually asked, "What does the young lady plan to do next?"
Jingni did not respond and continued pacing.
He waited a while longer, and seeing that Jingni was unwilling to speak, he continued talking to himself.
"If I were a girl, I should have taken her to find Guo Kai immediately."
His voice was still a little weak, but his tone was steady, as if he were analyzing something unrelated to himself: "However, the Pingyuan Lord's residence is in chaos, and Zhao Yan and Guo Kai are probably still there dealing with the situation, and they won't be able to leave anytime soon. If you go there rashly, not to mention whether you'll even see anyone, you'll only increase the risk of being exposed. If you accidentally reveal your presence—you've already disappeared in the chaos, and if you suddenly reappear, it will inevitably arouse suspicion."
Upon hearing this, Jingni remained silent, simply turning around and leaning against the windowsill, arms crossed, as if waiting for him to continue. Her face remained expressionless, but she made no move to interrupt him.
After spending half a day with Zhao Heng, she seemed to have gotten used to his way of speaking, which involved asking and answering his own questions. Or perhaps, she genuinely wanted to hear what else he had to say.
Zhao Heng shifted his posture, propping himself up slightly on his elbows on the couch, and continued, "But if we don't go to find Guo Kai, your situation will become even more complicated. Having me as a hostage is both a burden and a hot potato. We can't kill you, we can't release you, and we can't hide you for long. Can you stay here for one night, or two? I know you don't want to give up the mission like this, but right now, you probably don't have a safe place to go. You can't just stay here with me forever, can you?"
Upon hearing this, the Snow Maiden glanced at Jingni discreetly. The woman, as cold as ice, remained leaning against the edge of the table, her back to the sparse light from the window, her thoughts unreadable.
Jing Ni was silent for a moment, then said, "You have a plan?"
Zhao Heng stopped beating around the bush. He moved forward a bit, shifting his back away from the wall of the couch, and sat up straighter.
"To be honest, it was a terrible move for you to take me away from Lord Pingyuan's residence today. Your sudden disappearance has already cost you the chance to stay by Lord Xinling's side. Unless you can change your appearance, this mission will probably be out of your reach in the future."
Jing Ni glanced at him but remained silent, clearly waiting for Zhao Heng to continue.
Sure enough, Zhao Heng then said, "But in fact, this matter is not beyond saving."
Jingni's brow twitched slightly.
Zhao Heng said, "Right now, most people outside think I was kidnapped by those assassins disguised as wandering knights. Since the young ladies disappeared with me from Lord Pingyuan's residence, why not let them find us together in the thieves' den?"
Xue Nu sat on the edge of the couch, her gaze shifting back and forth between Zhao Heng and Jing Ni. She hadn't fully understood what was going on, but she clearly saw Jing Ni pause for a moment, then look at Zhao Heng with surprise.
Seeing Jingni's expression, Zhao knew she had already made up her mind. He then sat up from the couch and said, "If I can find an opportunity, I might be able to put in a good word for you before the King of Zhao, Lord Pingyuan, or even Lord Xinling. For example, if it weren't for your intervention, I would have already died at the hands of those assassins. Or, for example, you are skilled in swordsmanship and helped me escape from the bandits. I'll elaborate on how I'll make this up later, but that's the general idea."
He paused here before saying, "In that case, with your talent and beauty, it shouldn't be difficult for you to catch Lord Xinling's eye again."
Jingni's eyes lit up for a moment, then she turned around, paced back and forth for a couple of steps, stopped, paced back and forth for a couple more steps, then suddenly turned her head to look at Zhao Heng leaning against the couch again, but remained silent.
Zhao Heng, however, seemed to need no permission or approval from her regarding the feasibility of the plan, and had already straightened up to reach for the blood-stained outer robe hanging on the tattered coat rack.
The Snow Maiden paused for a moment, then hurriedly stepped forward to retrieve it for him. She saw him unfold the blood-stained and torn brocade robe and prepare to drape it over his shoulders.
"Let's not delay, let's go now. With the young lady's skills, we might be able to catch up with them before dawn. Then we can leave some clues behind, which should help people find us," he said as he got off the couch.
Having listened for a long time, the Snow Woman understood his plan. She quickly took two steps forward, reaching out as if to grab his sleeve, then pulled back and clutched it to her chest.
She looked hesitant, her lips parted several times, wanting to say something but not knowing how to say it, completely at a loss.
Zhao Heng saw Jing Ni looking behind him, so he turned around and looked at Xue Nu.
The little girl stood there, her hands clasped together, clearly trying to say something.
Zhao Heng pondered for a moment, then said to Jing Ni, "Xue Nu won't make things difficult for me. You don't need to make things hard for her. As long as I return safely in the end, she will never reveal your whereabouts."
The snow woman's pursed lips twitched, her eyelids lowered and then lifted again, finally whispering, "If she's worried, I can go with her."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled helplessly and said, "You didn't even attend the banquet. It would be strange if you suddenly disappeared from the manor. We might both be in danger then."
At this point, he pondered for a moment and then said, "If my mother intends to send you back to Zuiyue Tower in the next two days, you can go back first. If you feel that they might notice something, you can go back and hide for a while, and I will pick you up when I return."
Zhao Heng didn't look at Jing Ni when he said this, but he could feel that Jing Ni was listening to every word he said.
He simply reassured the Snow Maiden naturally, "If not, just pretend you don't know anything, listen carefully to Master Xu's lessons, and I'll test you when I get back."
The snow woman pursed her lips, looked at him, and her eyes were red-rimmed.
A tear that had been held back for a long time finally slid down from the corner of her eye, running down the curve of her cheek. She quickly raised her hand to wipe it away.
Jingni glanced between Zhao Heng and Xue Nu, paused when she saw Xue Nu wiping her eyes, then looked away, as if she was unaccustomed to seeing such a scene, or as if she felt it had nothing to do with her.
She suddenly asked, "Can she keep it a secret?"
Zhao Heng turned his head and simply said, "I believe her."
Jingni frowned, but ultimately didn't ask any more questions. She simply said to Xue Nu, "Whether this kid can come back alive or not depends on you. His life or death is in your hands."
The snow woman's shoulders trembled slightly, but she didn't cry. She simply bit her lower lip repeatedly, then nodded gently. The movement was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible unless you were watching closely.
Following Jingni's instructions, Xuenu secretly retrieved two more sets of clothes from Zhao Heng's room and packed them together with the dance clothes Jingni had changed out of earlier. She did all this without saying a word, only occasionally glancing at Zhao.
Zhao watched Xue Nu's busy figure without saying a word. This silent girl, whom he had somewhat schemed against and even brought back like a pendant, was now squatting on the ground, tightening the straps of the cloth bag one by one, as if she were doing something extremely important.
He picked up the cloth bag, preparing to sling it over his shoulder, but Jingni seemed unwilling to wait any longer and snatched it away directly.
Zhao Heng was quite helpless, and could only say to Xue Nu one last time, "Don't worry too much, I'll be fine."
The Snow Maiden hesitated, glancing at Jingni.
Jing Ni remained expressionless and didn't bother to listen to Zhao Heng say anything more.
She took a step to Zhao Heng's side, her left arm reaching behind him and hooking around his waist. Zhao Heng felt a tightening around his waist, and his body swayed as if he had been lifted up by a silent gust of wind.
The Snow Woman took two steps and stood by the window. She looked up and only managed to see two blurry shadows lightly touch the rooftops opposite before disappearing into the deeper night.
The courtyard was empty, with only the lanterns under the eaves swaying gently in the wind.
The Snow Woman stood by the window, watching the spot where they had disappeared, without moving. After a long while, she closed the window again, placed her hands on the windowsill, lowered her head, and gently clenched her fists.
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