Watching Su Yuanan walk out of the Tingfeng Pavilion, Ye Zijue’s gaze immediately froze over. She called for the servant to prepare a horse, promptly riding out of the city. Madly rushing through both day and night, she finally arrived in Taiyuan Prefecture on the third day, and found Bai Rongzhi.
She climbed over the wall, directly intruding into Bai Rongzhi’s study. With one foot, she kicked open the door and rushed straight in, leveling the sword against Bai Rongzhi’s neck. Holding the doc.u.ments in his hand, Bai Rongzhi motionlessly looked at her. A short moment later, he suddenly smiled: "Junior Apprentice Sister, recently, our meetings have become more and more peculiar."
"Senior Apprentice Brother, you know why I came ."
She looked at him coldly, the sword shifting even closer to his neck: "You must make Yang Yuan send troops."
"Junior Apprentice Sister," Bai Rongzhi gave her a funny look: "So many years have already pa.s.sed, yet you are still so naive? Such a great opportunity, how can I let it pa.s.s by? Sending troops? Truly laughable.”
“How could you become like this!” Ye Zijue raised her voice, with a face full of unreconciliation. Bai Rongzhi narrowed his eyes, calmly awaiting her next words. Ye Zijue’s hand that was holding the sword slightly trembled, her face filled with incredulity: “Do you remember why we came down from the mountain at that time? We did it for the common people! For the common people!”
“So, it’s even more impossible for me to send troops!” Bai Rongzhi answered resolutely, carrying a deeper meaning in his eyes: “Only when I force Su Yuanan to abdicate, will I send troops.”
“After he abdicates?” Ye Zijue’s eyes held cold intent: “Let that waste, Yang Yuan become emperor? Then kill Su Yuanan?"
"He must die." Bai Rongzhi lightly sighed: "Zijue, with Su Yuanan’s status, even living for a day is misery."
"You have changed." Ye Zijue coldly looked at him. The sword flashed under the light, resting upon Bai Rongzhi’s meridians: "Send troops, otherwise, everything that we learnt in the past, I will use on you today, at least once!"
Although the two of them were under the same master, their specialization had nothing in common with the other. Ye Zijue was good at martial arts, but Bai Rongzhi was better at strategies involving the disposition of troops. She knows all his tricks, having absolute confidence that she could suppress him.
"Zijue, haven"t you changed as well?" Bai RongZhi lightly laughed and just when he was about to continue, a white pigeon suddenly flew in from outside the window, landing on the shoulder of Ye Zijue. A letter was tied to the white pigeon"s foot, Ye Zijue"s face changed slightly. She knew who this was from——Su Yuanan.
She sealed Bai Rongzhi’s acupuncture points, before unraveling the letter.
It was indeed Su Yuanan’s handwriting, stamped with the ruler’s jade seal. Her breathing hitched, her hands slightly shaking.
Brother Bai: in this battle, zhen is no match for Brother Bai, yet it’s not that zhen is incompetent, only born from the wrong people at the wrong time. Yang Yuan does not have an upright att.i.tude towards the people, so zhen is unwilling to trust him. If it is Brother Bai that is becoming the emperor, zhen will immediately hand over the jade seal.
The matter of Official Ye being a scout for Brother Bai, zhen has known for a long time. To express zhen’s sincere will, she was dispatched to return to you.
He...what does he want to do…
Ye Zijue trembled, the paper lightly fluttering down. Bai Rong shifted his gaze across, conveniently seeing the contents of the letter. He stared blankly for a moment: "This Su Yuanan, really is a wonderful person..."
Without hearing the rest of Bai Rongzhi’s words, Ye Zijue turned around to madly rush outside. Bai Rongzhi loudly shouted: "Junior Apprentice Sister! You can"t go——"
It seemed as though she did not hear.
A man"s light smile flashed before her eyes. When he was in the imperial dragon robes, with his eyes shining like stars. While on the golden throne; bent over his desk between the various doc.u.ments; or turning a corner in the royal garden and moving the branches apart, revealing his handsome face. Winking at her; or just giving her a tender smile while nodding: "En, Zijue, this plan is very good."
And there was still his amazed look inside the Chang"an teahouse. Extending his hand to her to persuade her, "Follow me and you’ll have meat to eat." His expression of wanting to speak, yet hesitating again and again.
You see, he gave her a seed, which took root and sprouted, before growing into a towering tree, yet he suddenly said to another: "This tree, I will gift to you. "
How could it be like this!
Why was it like this?!
He still has many words that he had not said to her.
The words he had wanted to say in the back of the teahouse, he has not yet said it.
And she has never said those words to him either.
In these five years, she had thought that there was no need for such words between them, that it was enough as long as they understood each other. However, only now does she know just how much she wants to say those words to him.
Su Yuanan, Su Yuanan.
On the galloping horse, she chanted his name repeatedly. In this moment, she seemed to have returned to that time of many years ago, when she was still recklessly travelling through the country on her horse, wanting to enact justice. She had stopped below a restaurant in Chang"an, and just as she looked up, a smiling n.o.ble youth appeared before her gaze.