The rope was just ordinary hemp rope, tied in a dead knot, binding both hands, yet leaving a living person completely helpless.
Having endured through an entire night, Nanyi struggled until exhausted, finally slumping powerlessly against the window, forced to accept her fate.
Parched and unable to move.
Her mind was dull, and in her delirium she thought of Zhang Yuehui. They had been separated too long—a person in memory would inevitably become flat with time, and the spiritual support he could provide gradually weakened. Imperceptibly, Xie Queshan had changed how she viewed the world, and she too began to doubt: was a man’s love for a woman truly cheap?
Did Zhang Yuehui still exist in this world? If he cared about her and wanted to see her, why would there be no word from him? Why would he let her drift in this chaotic world, allowing her to die in some corner?
Or perhaps he was just an excuse for her wanting to live. With no one to depend on, she had thought of going to his side, but now that her death was certain, her obsession with him actually diminished.
She thought of the jade bracelet on her wrist. If she had sold it earlier, she could have exchanged it for money to carry with her, then she wouldn’t have stolen Xie Queshan’s purse, and none of the subsequent events would have happened.
Fate was truly cruel.
Thinking of how that jade bracelet had been violently slammed against the iron bars by Xie Queshan just now, it should have shattered. She tried moving her wrist—a circle around it had been rubbed bloody by the rope, any movement causing piercing pain, only the patch of skin wrapped by the bracelet was somewhat spared.
—Something suddenly flashed through her mind!
Nanyi’s attention had previously been entirely focused on how to escape. Though her wrist wounds hurt, in the face of life and death everything was bearable. Only now that she had calmed down did she feel that some wounds were cuts made on her skin by the sharp broken edges of the shattered jade bracelet.
Yes, wasn’t this a sharp tool?
She laboriously bent her fingers within the restraints, fishing out a shard of the jade bracelet from the tangled ropes, scraping it back and forth on the wall several times to make the break even sharper, then using the broken edge to slowly grind at the rope.
Initially progress was slow—the sturdy hemp rope was almost unmovable, and her raised hands were going numb, but she could only mechanically repeat this motion. This was her only hope.
Until the hemp rope was ground through with a gap, then it became easier. One of her hands quickly broke free, and in no time she had completely removed all the ropes.
Regaining her freedom, she couldn’t wait to run outside the door, knelt on the ground, and scooped up a mouthful of snow to put in her mouth. The clear, cold snow water slid down her throat, and everywhere it reached was like long drought meeting sweet rain, bringing new life.
Nanyi was even somewhat dazed. She looked up at the gray sky, then cracked her parched lips and smiled silently.
She had survived.
She had survived!
But as she smiled, tears disobediently streamed from her eyes. Where would she go?
——
In Li Du Mansion, the matter of Xie Queshan’s return was kept absolutely secret. In everyone’s eyes, he was still missing with unknown whereabouts.
Scattered Qi soldiers searched Tiger Kneel Mountain under the pretext of looking for Xie Queshan, but were actually scouting ahead.
Through covert reconnaissance, they confirmed that Yucheng Army was indeed camped at the ruined Taoist temple in the mountains. Xie Queshan’s intelligence was correct.
Wanyan Jun intensively deployed plans to annihilate Yucheng Army, with his personal troops as the main force. He intended to monopolize the credit for this matter, so he completely kicked Gusha out of the picture, not revealing even half a word of information to him.
Xu Kouyue came and went around Wanyan Jun, and through listening and guessing, she somewhat understood the full picture of events.
Regarding Yucheng Army, originally there were only some rumors and speculation—some said the army was hidden in Tiger Kneel Mountain, others said it had been destroyed by Qi soldiers halfway there. Before seeing the army, everything was just suspicion.
Madam Gantang had previously settled in Yucheng. If Yucheng Army was truly hidden in Tiger Kneel Mountain, who it was related to was obvious. Now it was only because Xie Queshan was still around that Wanyan Jun didn’t dare openly move against her second sister.
But if Yucheng Army was found, it would inevitably implicate Madam Gantang.
Xu Kouyue naturally worried about her aunt, but was powerless in the confined space of the inner quarters. After hesitating for a long time, she entered Xie Queshan’s side room under the pretext of delivering medicine.
She dared to seek out Xie Queshan because he had saved her at that spring banquet. She was betting that he still had some conscience in his heart. Even if negotiations failed, he had no need to betray her to Wanyan Jun.
At this time Xie Queshan was awake, but his body was still very weak—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his breath was like gossamer.
Xu Kouyue didn’t want to beat around the bush either. Xie Queshan was such an intelligent person, and the situation was urgent, so she got straight to the point.
“Master Xie, you’re doing your duty in your position, which is understandable, but if you tell Lord Wanyan about Yucheng Army, your dear second sister will certainly be in danger. Do you really want to push her into a fire pit?”
Only then did Xie Queshan breathe a sigh of relief—Xu Kouyue had finally come to find him.
But his words couldn’t be too explicit: “I’m also powerless. Some words should be said to someone who can take action.”
“Who is someone who can take action?” Xu Kouyue was anxious. “I’m confined to the back courtyard, can’t go out, can’t see anyone. I can’t very well go plead with Wanyan Jun, can I?”
“Princess, find a way to have Lord Wanyan take you out, and you’ll naturally see that person.”
Xu Kouyue was stunned. Each day Wanyan Jun went nowhere but the military camp and the Maritime Bureau…
The military camp was full of Qi soldiers, so that left the Maritime Bureau? Song Muchuan?
Song Muchuan’s influence wasn’t great enough to sway Wanyan Jun’s decisions. What would she say to Song Muchuan?
—No, that wasn’t right. Xie Queshan couldn’t possibly give such a shallow suggestion. There was another meaning in his words.
“Why look for him?”
He looked at her, his expression indifferent: “Sometimes one piece of information… is the key to determining victory or defeat.”
Xu Kouyue suddenly understood somewhat. She had originally just wanted to protect Madam Gantang and asked Xie Queshan to intercede for her, but the root of this matter actually lay in whether Yucheng Army was safe. If she could somehow pass along the news that Wanyan Jun was going to eliminate Yucheng Army, perhaps she could make Yucheng Army relocate in advance, leaving Wanyan Jun empty-handed.
And Song Muchuan, whom she was most likely to see, was the best candidate to relay the message.
That Xie Queshan would make such a suggestion to her… Xu Kouyue felt alarmed. No wonder he wouldn’t speak plainly, speaking so cryptically. If the Qi people knew, the consequence would be death without burial.
Xu Kouyue didn’t dare think further and bowed in thanks: “Master, thank you.”
“Princess, I have one more matter to ask of you.”
“Please speak, Master.”