Quick Wear: The Wronged One Becomes Rebellious

The north wind blows and the reed flowers turn white.

It was already late autumn, and the weather was getting colder day by day. Cai Qing had been on the road to Shanhaiguan for more than half a month.

We asked questions along the way and did not deviate from the route to Shanhaiguan.

Along the way, she left behind touching stories of her search for her husband.

"Miss, Cai Qing had a fever and fainted on the roadside!" Qi Dalu hurriedly ran back from the front to Gu Li's carriage window to report.

Qi Dalu was the seventh brother of Qi Dashan who was recommended to Gu Li. He was still a 17-year-old boy and accompanied Gu Li all the way north this time.

"Let Hongshi find a reliable family and take her there to stay!"

"Yes." The young man was not afraid of the cold, he answered and turned around and ran away, thinking in his heart that his wife was a rare kind-hearted person. She was just a useless maid, but she helped so many people silently behind the scenes and did good things without leaving a name.

If their wives hadn't been helping her, how could that crazy woman named Cai Qing have walked so far on her own without any harm?

She might have been deceived by that human trafficker, or carried away by a wild dog while she was sleeping in the wild. How could she have the chance to cry and complain about her miserable plight, calling her "Mrs. Fan Lang"?

However, Qi Dalu kept in mind the instructions of his brother Dashan, and he would do whatever the lady told him to do. If he wanted to stay by the lady's side like his brother Dashan, then listening to the lady was the most important thing.

Cai Qing, who was sleeping outdoors, unfortunately caught a cold and fainted on the side of the road. She was still muttering about going to Shanhaiguan to find Fan Lang, her newlywed wife.

Hongshi dragged the person to the door of the nearest farmer's house with disdain and gave ten copper coins to the old woman in the house, "Mother-in-law, this young lady fainted on the side of the road because she was not feeling well. I would like to trouble you to take her in temporarily."

The old woman was also kind-hearted. She let Cai Qing into her woodshed without saying a word.

Seeing that the person had been found, Hongshi left in a flash.

Hongshi was a female guard who knew some kung fu and was found by Jiang Zhuo for Gu Li before he left. She was also the only person who knew what Gu Li was going to do.

Seeing Hongshi's return, Gu Li asked her to come into the carriage to keep warm.

"Everything has been arranged. Cai Qing will not be able to recover for at least seven or eight days." Hongshi reported.

Gu Li nodded, "Then let's go back to town and find an inn to rest for a few days. You've worked hard these days, and now you can have a good rest."

The inconspicuous green carriage turned around and headed for the nearest town.

Cai Qing was in a coma and didn't know if she could find Fan Lang alive. When she woke up and found a thick layer of dry grass under her and a roof covered with spider webs above her head, she knew someone had saved her.

The old woman came to see her with a bowl of water, and she shed two lines of tears, "Thank you very much for saving my life. I can finally continue to look for my poor husband!"

Without waiting for the old woman to speak, Cai Qing told the tragic love story between her and her husband Fan Xiliang over and over again, as if she were performing a drama.

The old woman almost burst into tears after hearing this. Her son was also taken away to serve in the army and has not returned yet. The old woman seemed to have a sympathy for Cai Qing and took better care of her. She even moved her from the woodshed to the side room where her son once lived.

If Cai Qing was still a maidservant beside Gu Li, she would have had a hard time now. But Gu Li made her work like an animal for a year, and Cai Qing, who was used to roughing things, recovered from her typhoid fever in just five or six days.

The old woman was worried that she would be in danger traveling alone in the cold winter, so she wanted her to stay and wait until spring to go north.

But Cai Qing insisted on leaving, "My husband is still waiting for me at the border, I want to go find him."

So Cai Qing set off again against the howling northwest wind.

After getting the news, Gu Li stayed lazy in the warm inn for another day, then set off slowly, sitting in the carriage, not too far behind Cai Qing.

Picking green takes the shortcut, while picking lychees takes the official road.

He picked greens, ate bran balls, swallowed wild vegetables, and drank snow water. He tried delicacies from all over the country and never went to any other restaurant.

Cai Qing stumbled along the way, while Gu Li rode leisurely in the car. The two groups of people went one after the other and finally arrived at Shanhaiguan before the end of the year.

Looking at the Great Wall in the distance, Cai Qing ran towards it excitedly. Her swollen toes from frostbite broke through the thin uppers of her shoes, but she didn't care. "Fan Xiliang, Fan Xiliang, where are you? I'm here to find you!"

Cai Qing, who had been living outdoors, was like a mad woman. She ran and asked, "Excuse me, has anyone seen Fan Xiliang? I'm looking for Fan Xiliang."

After shouting until his voice was hoarse, he finally asked a fellow hard-laborer who had once been in the same stone-carrying team as Fan Xiliang.

"Excuse me, are you Fan Xiliang's wife?" The laborer looked at the disheveled woman in front of him. She looked like a beggar, completely different from the dignified woman that Fan Xiliang described.

"Yes, I am Fan Xiliang's wife." Cai Qing wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. "On our wedding day, he was arrested and sent to do forced labor. I haven't seen him for more than a year. Do you know where he is?"

The slave was puzzled, "Are you really Fan Xiliang's wife? Is your last name Meng?"

Cai Qing's expression, which seemed about to cry, suddenly froze. She mechanically turned her head to look at the rough and ugly man, "Did Fan Lang tell you?"

Throughout this journey, although Cai Qing always referred to herself as Mrs. Fan Xiliang, she never said her name. After hearing about her tragic experience, most people called her Mrs. Fan.

But this man could tell that Fan Xiliang’s wife’s surname was Meng.

The slave didn't pay much attention to it and just said, "Yes, Fan Xiliang once said that he had a newly married wife named Meng Jiangnu."

Cai Qing felt cold all over as if struck by lightning, and her burning desire to find her husband was suddenly extinguished by the northwest wind that was as sharp as an icy knife.

From inside to outside, from blood to flesh, everything felt cold.

She moved her frozen facial muscles, pulled her cracked lips, and said to the man vaguely, "Yes, I am Fan Xiliang's wife. My name is Meng Jiangnu. I am here to look for him. Can you tell me where Fan Xiliang is?"

She wanted to find Fan Xiliang and ask him why he betrayed her. It was Cai Qing who had suffered with him.

Meng Jiangnu didn't give anything in return, so why should he keep thinking about her?

Has he forgotten their original intention?

She wanted to find Fan Xiliang. The lady had promised her that as long as she found Fan Xiliang, she would return her indenture contract to her.

The lady is a person of her word.

She will definitely get her indenture.

Cai Qing grabbed the sleeve of the man in front of her and said, "Where is Fan Xiliang? Could you please take me to find him? I have something very important to discuss with him. I----"

The convict looked down and saw the woman's hands were covered with chilblains, red and swollen, and the skin was broken and bleeding. He shook his head helplessly, raised his hand and pointed to a place in the distance, and whispered, "He's there!"