spoiled brat

Chapter 90, Section 89: The Lost Boat (Part Nine)

As Zhao Zhao answered, she wrote her name on Wang Liuer's palm with her finger. Knowing it was her, Wang Liuer asked with difficulty, "Are you and Shi Gang alright?"

Zhao Zhao wrote in her palm. She had so much to say but so few words to write, so she hurriedly scribbled. Despite her injuries, Wang Liu'er could still laugh: "I ask, you answer. One stroke is right, two strokes are wrong."

Zhao Zhao placed a stroke of her pen in her palm.

Are you exonerated?

He was exonerated.

"Is Xu Feng dead?"

died.

"That's enough." Wang Liuer smiled with relief. "I can rest easy now."

Zhao Zhao knew that her mind was made up to die and there was nothing more to persuade her to do. So she turned around and looked at Xiu Yi, who was standing quietly behind her: "Could you please ask her for me if she has any unfulfilled wishes?"

Wang Liuer's palms were covered in scars and bloodstains. Xiu Yi's fingers slowly slid over them, feeling the rough and uneven texture.

For some reason, he thought of a flower called Lespedeza, which was neither conspicuous nor noble, with tough thorns hidden in its delicate branches, and small flowers that bloomed and flourished all the time.

After writing down the sentence, Wang Liuer pondered for a moment and asked Zhaozhao, "Has the sky in Yunzhou cleared up these past few days?"

Zhao Zhao wiped away her tears, wanting to ask Liu'er how she guessed it.

“You smell of sunshine,” Wang Liuer said softly. “When the sky clears, the little flowers on my mother’s grave bloom, yellow and white, like stars in the sky… I can’t see them anymore, Zhaozhao, go and take a look for me.”

Zhao Zhao burst into tears, and Xiu Yi wrote in Wang Liu'er's palm: Where is your mother's grave?

Xiu Yi had a faint, cool scent of sandalwood about him, which Wang Liuer could smell. She looked at Xiu Yi based on her intuition and asked, "Are you Zhao Zhao's friend?"

friend?

A prostitute and a prince, their statuses are worlds apart, why would they need to be friends?
Zhao Zhao quickly made two swipes on her palm, indicating no. Wang Liuer didn't ask any more questions and used her fingertips, which were missing nails and still dripping blood, to write the location of her mother's grave on the ground.

Zhao Zhao remembered, and choked up as she said to Xiu Yi, "I want to take her away."

An inconspicuous oxcart was already parked at the east gate of the prison. Upon seeing Zhao Zhao and Xiu Yi emerge, the two drivers bowed respectfully: "Sir."

The two men were dressed as farmers, but their coarse linen clothes couldn't hide their burly figures. They put Wang Liuer in the shed and laid her down on a soft pile of hay.

The matter was settled. Xiu Yi handed Zhao Zhao a silver note: "I'll compensate you."

Previously, to appease the refugees, Zhao Zhao had pretended to scatter all the silver notes Wang Liuer had given her. Xiu Yi had promised to return them to her, six or seven thousand taels, but the note in his hand was a full ten thousand taels: "Too much."

Xiu Yi had no intention of explaining, and simply said, "Xiu Ning wants to see you." At that moment, the crisp sound of horses' hooves rang out from the west. Zhao Zhao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a magnificent carriage approaching from afar, finally stopping in front of her.

He Bi, who was driving the carriage, sat cross-legged on the seat and reached out to Zhao Zhao: "Come here, little girl."

Knowing that it was Xiu Ning inside, Zhao Zhao became somewhat shy. She raised her sleeve and sniffed it; the stench that had lingered in the prison had dissipated.

Why let her make you laugh: "Are you shy? Hurry up and come up!"

Zhao Zhao helped him up, and the curtain was lifted, revealing a section of plain clothing, showing Xiu Ning sitting quietly inside.

The moonlight fell on her, like flowing starlight, highlighting her serene face, as if carved from jade and piled up like snow. Her eyebrows were like paintings, and her eyes were like flowing water. She was clearly a breathtaking beauty, yet she exuded a coldness that had settled into her bones, untouched by the world's hustle and bustle, making people dare not look at her too much.

This is an immortal.

"The county master..."

Xiu Ning reached out her hand to Zhao Zhao, and there was a line of scars in her fair and white palm.

This was the injury from drawing the bow that day. Zhao Zhao carefully placed her fingertips on it, and with Xiu Ning's guidance, the two sat down facing each other.

She was initially shy and self-conscious, but when she met Xiu Ning's gentle eyes, all her worldly thoughts vanished like dust. Her heart was cleansed, and she felt clear inside and out. Her ears, which had turned red, gradually returned to their original white color.

Xiu Ning took out the jade hairpin that Zhao Zhao had returned, placed it on the small table, dipped her finger in water, and wrote: Doesn't Zhao Zhao like it?

Upon understanding these words, Zhao Zhao's ears instantly turned bright red. Xiu Ning remembered that her name was Zhao Zhao; he actually remembered that her name was Zhao Zhao!

Zhao Zhao waved her hand and explained, "I like it, I don't dislike it, it's just..." She paused, "It's just that my life has been too turbulent, I'm afraid I might not be able to keep it safe one day and break it." If she really didn't protect what Xiu Ning gave her, she didn't know how long she would regret it.

Xiu Ning had a general idea of ​​what Zhao Zhao had gone through these days. Seeing the small bundle on Zhao Zhao's back, he asked: Are you leaving Yunzhou?
“Yes,” Zhao Zhao replied, “My family is still waiting for me to come back.”

Upon hearing this, Xiu Ning gently pushed open the lattice window and turned her fingers outside. After a moment, Xiu Yi replied helplessly, "The money has already been given to her."

Zhao Zhao's ears turned so red they were almost bleeding. No wonder, no wonder she received more silver than originally planned.

She clutched the silver note in her sleeve, torn between returning the extra money. She didn't want Xiu Ning's help anymore, but this ten thousand taels might truly pave the way for her future. Seeing her hesitation, Zhao Zhao raised her hand and wrote: This is what you deserve.

Zhao Zhao nodded, shamelessly admitting to the statement. Xiu Ning continued writing: My brother told me everything you said that day…

Zhao Zhao didn't recognize the words that followed. Xiu Ning praised her, but she couldn't even understand what the rest of the text meant. Not wanting to pretend she understood just to save face, she became shy and stared blankly at Xiu Ning.

Xiu Ning noticed the inferiority complex in Zhao Zhao's eyes and rewrote:

Zhao Zhao is good, Zhao Zhao is very good.

These seven words were simple, and Zhao Zhao understood them perfectly. A surge of indescribable emotion welled up within her, and she stared blankly at Xiu Ning: "...Thank you."

Xiu Ning smiled, then looked at the oxcart under the willow tree. A hint of self-reproach appeared in her clear eyes. She remembered what Yi Xing had relayed about Wang Liuer. She was a knowledgeable girl. If it weren't for this unexpected disaster, she would have had a more brilliant life.

She felt sorry for not being able to protect such a good girl.

He took out a wooden box and handed it to Zhaozhao.

Inside was a rusty iron plaque, which Zhao Zhao vaguely recognized: "Lin Hu, Wang Qing..."

-

There was a noise nearby, and Wang Liuer knew it was Zhao Zhao. In the silent darkness, a cold object was placed in her hand. Its shape seemed familiar, and she felt the unevenness under the rust with her fingers... Wang Qing.

These belong to her father.

Almost the instant she realized this, blood seeped through the white blindfold covering Wang Liuer's eyes. A warm, soft body embraced her, speaking gentle words of comfort to her ears that she could no longer hear.

So Wang Liuer really stopped crying. She nestled in Zhao Zhao's arms and whispered to the small piece of iron, "Father, Xu Feng is dead. You and Mother can rest in peace now."

Zhao Zhao sat on the soft hay, gazing at the lanterns fading into the distance along the long street, thankful that Wang Liuer in her arms was unaware of the truth. Taking down a powerful figure single-handedly was never something ordinary people like them could accomplish. Whether Wang Liuer assassinated him or not, Xu Feng, caught in the storm, would die.

After leaving the city, the sky gradually brightened, remaining overcast as if filled with tears. The two soldiers knew what their mission was, and feeling a pang of reluctance, they deliberately slowed the oxcart's pace, leisurely making their way into a small mountain west of Yunzhou City.

The road was lined with lush trees, filled with birdsong, and a fine drizzle drifted in the wind, carrying with it scattered, powdery petals.

Perhaps it was the promise of returning to one's roots, for a smile appeared on Wang Liuer's face—a genuine smile that Zhao Zhao had never seen before in the music academy: "My home is halfway up the mountain, and there's a pond in front of it. The pond is filled with koi of different colors, swimming around like a painting..."

She talked about the funny things she did with her parents when she was a child, and what kind of person she originally wanted to be. There were no complaints or regrets, only the relief of a dying person.

When they were almost halfway up the mountain, the ox lay motionless, its eyes wet, as if it had heard her words and didn't want her to die. Two soldiers pointed at the ox on the ground and asked Zhao Zhao, "...Little girl, why don't you try to persuade your friend?"

Zhao Zhao took Wang Liuer's hand, about to write something, but Wang Liuer shook her head.

"I'm so tired," she said.

In fact, they all knew that given Wang Liuer's physical condition, no matter how hard she tried to fight against fate, she could only prolong her life for a while.

The two soldiers sighed. One pulled some grass from the roadside to lead the cattle to drink water, while the other, having nothing to do, picked colorful flowers from the roadside grass, bundled them up, and quietly placed them next to Wang Liuer.

Wang Liuer couldn't see, so Zhao Zhao stuffed the flowers into her hands. She buried her face in the flowers, took a deep breath, and happily said, "The flowers smell so good."

As she spoke, she pulled out a few branches, intending to weave a wreath to wear on her head. Unfortunately, she couldn't see, and her fingers, which had been subjected to torture, were not very dexterous.

Zhao Zhao wrote in her palm: I'll come.

By the time Zhaozhao finished weaving the flower wreath, the oxcart had arrived at Wang Liuer's house.

This place was nothing like the beautiful place she remembered. The houses were collapsed, the pond was silted up, the willow trees in front of the door had withered and died, and the swans on them had decayed and fallen to the ground.

Everywhere you look is a mess, the only hidden glimmer of light is on the edge of the cliff, next to a tender little willow tree, there is an inconspicuous solitary grave, the offerings in front of the grave are empty, there is no tombstone, but it is full of small flowers, blooming vigorously and beautifully.

Zhao Zhao helped Wang Liuer to the grave. Miraculously, the blind Wang Liuer was able to find the small willow tree accurately. She touched its roots and whispered, "It's good that she survived."

The soil on the cliff edge is thin, making it difficult for trees to take root and grow. A year ago, she planted this tree so that it could stay with her mother in her place. Before she passed away, she told the tree, "I hope you can live until I avenge my mother."

Now, my wish has finally come true.

"What day of the month is it today?" Wang Liuer suddenly asked.

Zhao Zhao wrote on her palm: "Ninth day".

“The ninth day of the month,” Wang Liuer murmured. “Old Wai has already come this month. He comes to sweep the grave once every three months. By the time he comes again, I will have already been completely burned.”

Have you already been here?
Zhao Zhao stared at the empty offerings in front of the grave; it didn't look like anyone had visited recently. She vividly remembered that half a month ago, she and Wang Liuer had sought Lao Wai's help on Jiaofangqian Street. Lao Wai had taken Zhao Zhao's money and letter, saying he could bring the message back from Qingyang County within ten days.

Zhao Zhao has been too busy to go to Jiaofangqian Street to look for Lao Wai lately, but Lao Wai is someone Wang Liuer trusts. If she could, why wouldn't she come to sweep the tomb?
An ominous premonition rose in Zhao Zhao's heart, but was interrupted by Wang Liuer's voice: "Zhao Zhao."

"After I die, let me sleep next to my mother." Wang Liuer sat down against the willow tree, her tone calm, as if discussing the weather, with even a smile on her lips: "Do you have a knife on you?"