The jade die lian hua pendant earring was on the ground. Bai Zhi was about to pick it up but Xiao Shao grasped it first. Bai Zhi’s fingers trembled slightly and her voice was fraught with suspicion when she asked, “Why do you have my young miss’ earring?”
Xiao Shao seemed to be slightly startled. “Jiang Ruan?”
“This is my young miss’,” Bai Zhi said. “It’s been lost for many years, how did you come by it?”
Xiao Shao turned to glance at Ye Feng, who was looking stiffly back at him.
Zhao Yuan Feng and the others were also looking at him in bafflement. Xiao Shao walked to the edge of the cliff and, contrary to everyone’s expectations, lifted the corner of his robe and leaped forward in a sweeping motion. He moved so quickly that no one could stop him in time. Ye Feng only had time to shout, “Master!”
The mist and clouds swirled around Xue Yi cliff. One could only catch glimpses of mountain streams and thick forest in this quiet and secluded place. Yet, it also seemed to harbour boundless danger.
Ye Feng rushed to the cliff edge, a look of self-recrimination on his face. After a momentary shock, Guan Liang Han gradually calmed down and walked over to pat Ye Feng’s shoulder. He said, “Xiao Shao’s qing gong* is exceptional. If he didn’t fully believe that he would succeed, he would not have attempted it. Why don’t you return first? Zhao daren and I will work together to send soldiers down there to search for them.”
[1] 轻功 (Qing Gong) – a Chinese martial art which tends to be exaggerated in wuxia (martial arts) stories e.g. people being able to move swiftly at superhuman speeds and perform gravity-defying acts such as skimming over tree tops (Think ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’). More here.
Although he was also shocked and baffled as to why Xiao Shao had unexpectedly jumped off the cliff edge, he knew that his fellow disciple had never been a headstrong person. Therefore, something must have happened for him to act this way.
Ye Feng listened to Guan Liang Han, and knowing the extent of Xiao Shao’s martial arts skill, believed that nothing was likely to befall Xiao Shao. Thus, he regained his composure and walked back to Guan Liang Han’s side. While walking past Bai Zhi, he could not help but give her a complicated look.
When Bai Zhi heard Guan Liang Han speak of a search, she heaved a sigh of relief, and hurried to check on Lian Qiao, who looked half-dead as she lay on the ground. Her suspicions plagued her – Jinying Wang and Jiang Ruan were not connected in any way, so why was he carrying this? That jade die lian hua pendant earring had been from a pair of Zhao Mei’s favourite earrings; she had brought them with her from the General fu when she got married, and she had always loved them. The workmanship was beautiful, and the raw materials were hard to come by. When Jiang Ruan grew older, Zhao Mei had given the earrings to her, and Jiang Ruan had worn them at all times. Later, on some unknown occasion when Jiang Ruan had gone out, she had returned with only one. Naturally, she could not wear only one earring, so she had put the other one away; because it had belonged to Zhao Mei, Jiang Ruan locked it into a small box, which she wiped clean regularly.
At present, that one was still locked inside the box, but the other earring was on Xiao Shao’s person. Why?
Bai Zhi just could not make sense of it.
Two others who could not make sense of it were Zhao Yuan Feng and Zhao Yi. In their eyes, Xiao Shao had jumped off the cliff because of Jiang Ruan. However, as people who were familiar with Xiao Shao’s character, they were sure that he was not someone who had tender feelings for the fairer sex. It seemed that there was a close relationship between Xiao Shao and Jiang Ruan, but, the expression on the face of Jiang Ruan’s maidservant cast a lot of doubt on that assumption.
However, suspicions notwithstanding, they still had to search for those two. Zhao Yuan Feng waved his hand and said, “I will bring Li An and the captives from the Chi Lei army back to the capital city. Yi’er, you stay with Guan Liang Han, and locate Jiang Ruan’s whereabouts.” After some thought, he added, with heavy emphasis, “You must find her.”
Although the Zhao family had only known Jiang Ruan for a short period of time, the Zhao family truly regarded her as a young lady from the General fu. As her uncle, he was already experiencing much distress about the current situation, and if Jiang Xin Zhi were to find out . . . Zhao Yuan Feng shook his head and sighed inwardly, apprehensive that there would once again be chaos.
* * *
Deep in the mountain forests, the steep cliffs towered over the rest of the terrain. In the middle of the mountains, the snow had not yet melted, and the snow and ice was piled half a foot high. With every step, one’s foot sank into the snow, and the cold attacked one’s bones like stabbing needles.
The rain fell incessantly, and the icy wind grew colder, as did one’s body.
Jiang Ruan walked with an uneven gait on the valley floor of the steep cliff. The mud and snow had rendered her clothes exceedingly dirty, and she cut an extremely sorry figure. She paid no heed to her eerie surroundings and simply kept walking, only stopping when she saw a small cave appear in the distance.
She pulled her clothes tightly around her as she searched for the entrance to the cave and finally entered it. The cave was not big, and there were dense bushes at the entrance, which were barely able to block the icy wind.
As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Ruan sat down in the depths of the cave entrance leaning against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. Then, she pulled up her sleeve to expose the wound on her shoulder.
Her plain clothes were completely sodden and clung tightly to her arms, and there was the faint reek of blood. As she pulled on the cloth, the slight sound of flesh and skin tearing was heard, and the cloth slowly came apart to reveal the wound beneath it, stuck to it with blood.
It was a deep cut, such that the raw flesh within was protruding from the cut. She must have sustained the laceration from the sharp branches she had encountered as she fell. She had been carrying some medicine with her, but she had no idea where it was now; she had probably lost it during the fall.
Jiang Ruan exposed the wound to the frigid air, and gazed at the cave mouth, lost in thought.
The topography of Xue Yi cliff’s Calabash Mouth made it a strategic location. It was highly romantic to view the clouds from the cliff, especially early on a spring morning, when the clouds and mist had not yet dispersed. As daylight advanced, standing on the cliff watching the rosy light of sunrise spread across the heavens, with the sound of the wind in one’s ears, the rain evaporating into a fine mist, the flowers and plants perfuming the air – it was truly paradise on earth.
In her previous life, Xuan Li had once brought her here to watch the sunrise.
At the moment of her astonishment at the beauty of the scene, Xuan Li had held her by the waist and jumped down with her. She had initially cried out in alarm, but laughed on hearing Xuan Li’s bright voice. So it is that there are people in this wide world whose knowledge was far reaching; who knew such a landscape presented itself below Xue Yi cliff. What was concealed by the clouds and mist was not a haphazard array of craggy rubble, but a smooth and gentle slope. If one were to step off the cliff suddenly into thin air, one would only drop a short way to this stone platform.
She had always cherished every minute, every second of the time she had spent with Xuan Li. This was especially so after she had entered the palace, and she would reminisce about the beautiful scenery from time to time. She knew the terrain and layout of Xue Yi cliff better than anyone.
Thus, she had unhesitatingly leaped off the cliff, dropped through the clouds, and landed on the stone platform. Then, she had followed the route in her memory and climbed downwards.
The soldiers would descend the cliff from another location and would not see this stone platform. They would simply search for her and call out her name at the base of the cliff.
She had ripped off pieces from her skirt and tied them to the branches along her way as markers. When the men sent by the Zhao family saw them, they would be able to find her.
Somewhat weary, she closed her eyes. Raising a private army, intending to mount a rebellion; all these criminal charges were sufficient to ensure that the Grand Councillor fu would never be forgiven. Moreover, all the actions that she had taken were really rather suspicious, so she had no choice but to pretend that Li An had forced her to jump off the cliff. In this way, another criminal charge would be added to Li An’s record, that of conspiring to murder a member of a court official’s family. As for her, she could cleanly extricate herself from the affair and brush aside all suspicion.
She had worked out everything, but her calculations had not reckoned that her body would give up on her at this present time, leaving her no option but to seek a hiding place that was sheltered from the wind.
From a young age, she had been frail and frequently ill, and having to suffer Zhang Lan and his family’s mistreatment for the past few years in the rural residence had caused this condition to become chronic. Later on, falling into the water because of Chen Zhao on that one occasion had been like adding hail to snow. In this life, she had returned to the fu earlier, and Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi were constantly watching over her. Thus, her physical condition seemed to be much better than before. Who could have known that today would bring this kind of turmoil, especially in such a cold, wind-swept place. She had already felt that her body was extremely weak, and if she had to wait for the soldiers to rescue her, she was afraid that she would lose consciousness before they could reach her, and be carried off by some wild beast.
Even though she had found this mountain cave and was able to shelter from the wind and cold to some extent, she could still feel her body freezing bit by bit. Furthermore, the clothes plastered to her body were all thoroughly soaked by the snow and rain, and she had nothing with which she could warm herself. If she really had to wear these icy, sodden clothes for an entire night, she honestly did not know what would become of her.
Jiang Ruan rubbed her forehead and was contemplating going outside to gather some rocks in order to block up the entrance of the cave more tightly, when she heard light footsteps.
Her expression changed and she sat bolt upright, listening attentively to the movement outside.
The footsteps were light and unhurried, measured and steady. Yet, there was no shouting, no other noise; it could not be a soldier looking for her. Jiang Ruan’s heart sank. It was getting late, and ordinary prey would not come to this place. Who could it be?
The footsteps were heading straight for the mountain cave.
Jiang Ruan reached into her sleeve. The dagger she had concealed before she left Jiang fu was still there. She clutched the cold dagger tightly and stared at the mouth of the cave hidden by the bushes.
Step by step, step by step, striking her heart step by step.
The footsteps stopped just a few paces shy of the cave mouth, and Jiang Ruan heaved a sigh of relief.
The next second, the bushes had been knocked aside by something, and a slender figure appeared.
The sky was gloomy, and it was already evening. In the hazy light, his face was clearly imprinted on Jiang Ruan’s pupils.
In that split second, both of them looked at each other. One was astounded, the other was slightly startled.
Jiang Ruan stared at him fixedly. Xiao Shao was clad in black brocade and his tall figure was slim and elegant. His already outstanding appearance was enhanced by his naturally gracious disposition which also manifested itself in his bearing. Thus, he brightened the dark and dirty mountain cave by his mere presence.
Xiao Shao was also taking measure of the person facing him. A young lady whose clothes were clinging to her body, with unkempt crow-black hair, and a pair of eyes which were staring at him with equal parts alertness and surprise. She had always been gentle and calm, smilingly manipulating people, so this was the very first time he had ever seen her cutting such a sorry figure.
With these thoughts turning in his head, he strode into the cave.
“Xiao Wangye.” After quite a while, Jiang Ruan came to her senses. Looking at him, she asked, “Why are you here?”
“It’s already late. The path out of here is difficult, and your body is extremely weak; you shouldn’t move around too much. It’s best that we stay here and wait for the soldiers,” Xiao Shao said calmly.
Jiang Ruan heard the meaning behind his words and laughed. “Xiao Wangye wants to rescue me?”
She still harboured some suspicion, for Xiao Shao was enigmatic and unfathomable, and no one could guess at the workings of his mind. On a previous occasion, he had helped Jiang Su Su, but he had now helped her (Jiang Ruan) several times over. She could not figure out what this meant.
