Before Ji Nanjing came, he heard that Bai Yanqing had not eaten or drank for many days. When he entered the house and saw Bai Yanqing, who was fully dressed and eating quietly, a slight surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Brother Jing?"
Seeing the hurried young man in front of her, Bai Yanqing had a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Why are you so thin?"
Ji Nanjing looked at Bai Yanqing, who was so thin that she almost lost her appearance. His heart and eyes were filled with distress.
Bai Yanqing reluctantly raised the corners of her lips and smiled miserably at Ji Nanjing. That smile made Ji Nanjing's heart break!
Bai Yanqing, who was clearly alive and kicking before, has now become like this. How can you bear to call Ji Nanjing your elder brother?
"First Prince! Is this what you said, will you take good care of my sister?"
Ji Nanjing turned his head and saw Yunqi sitting beside him. He was so angry that he wanted to punch him! Just as he swung his fist, Yunqi nimbly hid behind Bai Yanqing.
"Lady!"
The aggrieved male voice instantly aroused a trace of protective desire in Bai Yanqing.
"Brother Jing! Don't blame him! I just can't think of it myself!"
Bai Yanqing spoke hurriedly. She didn't want Ji Nanjing and the Ji family to be charged with beating the prince because of her!
Ji Nanjing stopped at the right time. He didn't really want to hit Yunqi. He was just angry and had nowhere to vent!
Before coming, Ji Nanjing already knew why Bai Yanqing was ill.
"Tomorrow, I'll ask someone to bring you some supplements! Look how thin your little face is! You don't even have a pound of flesh left!"
Ji Nanjing raised his hand and pinched Bai Yanqing's face, with unconcealable distress in his eyes!
Bai Yanqing didn't dodge as usual, and just let Ji Nanjing pinch her cheeks. In the end, Yunqi couldn't stand it any longer, so he stepped forward and stopped Ji Nanjing's clutches!
Ji Nanjing sat down and looked at Bai Yanqing, who looked like a puppet in front of him, with a stunned look on his face. Ji Nanjing's heart felt like a knife.
Bai Yanqing lowered her head and expressionlessly picked up the dishes on the plate in front of her. She put them into her mouth unhurriedly, one chopstick, two chopsticks, three chopsticks...like a puppet who is tireless and never full.
"Okay! Stop eating!"
Looking at Bai Yanqing like this, Ji Nanjing felt sad, distressed, and helpless... He took the chopsticks from Bai Yanqing's hand and threw them to the ground!
Everyone in the room was frightened by Ji Nanjing's actions! Only Bai Yanqing still sat motionless, as if her soul had been drained out!
"Follow me!"
Ji Nanjing grabbed Bai Yanqing's wrist and pulled her out.
Bai Yanqing was already so thin that a gust of wind could blow her down! Ji Nanjing pulled Bai Yanqing away from the stool! Without noticing, Bai Yanqing staggered and almost fell!
But at this moment, Ji Nanjing's stubborn temper also came up. He didn't care, pulled Bai Yanqing and walked out! Even though Mo Ran and Yuan Li in the room were jumping around anxiously, Ji Nanjing showed no mercy!
"Master! If this continues, something will happen!"
Yuan Li turned around anxiously and called Yun Qi.
Yun Qi was still sitting calmly, turning a blind eye to everything in front of him. It wasn't until he heard Yuan Li's anxious cry that Yun Qi seemed to have come back to his senses!
Yun Qi raised his eyes and looked at the entrance of the courtyard. Ji Nanjing and Bai Yanqing were no longer there.
"Nothing! Maybe... Ji Nanjing has his own plan!"
Yunqi's face didn't show any panic at all.
For a moment, Yuan Li didn't know whether to believe Yunqi or Ji Nanjing!
…
Ji Nanjing pulled Bai Yanqing and ran all the way to the woods. There... there were still traces of the fight a few days ago!
There are still traces of blood that have dried up on the fallen leaves in the forest. The dead branches on the ground have been trampled to pieces. Although some of the dense footprints have been covered by fallen leaves, they can still be seen, varying in depth.
Once again, it was messy.
The messy sword scratches or neat cuts on the tree trunks all reveal that a fierce fight once took place here!
On the ground not far away, there were still two or three torches thrown. The torches had long been soaked in dew and extinguished, or maybe... they were extinguished by human blood!
Stepping on the dead leaves on the ground, Bai Yanqing walked around in the forest, one foot deep and one foot shallow. In addition to the "rustling" of falling leaves, the only thing left in her ears was the occasional sound of insects coming from the grass.
Ming.
"Did you see it? There is nothing but blood here! If she comes back again, she will take such risks!"
This time, Ji Nanjing did not yell at Bai Yanqing, but instead spoke to her calmly.
The mess all over the ground reminded Bai Yanqing how many lives those people had sacrificed in order to find Cai Xing.
"It's late autumn, and all the birds have migrated to the south to spend the winter. In this forest, there are only a few sparrows left who are not afraid of the cold."
Bai Yanqing raised her head, looked at the dead branches above her head, and murmured to herself.
Ji Nanjing was stunned. Obviously, he didn't know why Bai Yanqing suddenly said such irrelevant words.
"Brother Jing, tell me, why did those people suddenly find Caixing?"
For so many years, Cai Xing stayed in the Bai family and was safe and sound. Why did those people suddenly find her?
Suddenly, Bai Yanqing seemed to suddenly remember something again, and she ran away. Ji Nanjing was so frightened that he hurriedly followed her! He was afraid that she would not be able to think about it!
After crossing the fields, Bai Yanqing panted and ran to Doctor Hua's medicine house.
The courtyard door was locked, and no more smoke came out of the tall chimney!
Bai Yanqing stood in the wind, thinking for a moment, and then asked Ji Nanjing, who was following him, to kick open the courtyard door!
Although Ji Nanjing despised such villainous behavior, seeing Bai Yanqing's serious look, he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to raise his foot and kick the dilapidated courtyard door hard!
There was a loud "bang" and the dilapidated courtyard door fell to the ground.
Bai Yanqing immediately ran inside.
It is still the familiar courtyard, with herbs still drying on the medicine shelves in the courtyard. The door of the house is also ajar, as if the people in this courtyard have just left home. Everything is the same as usual!
Bai Yanqing raised her feet and walked towards the room. There was a tea set on the square table in the room. There was still water in the teacup on the table. When she touched it, it was already cold.
Bai Yanqing stretched out her fingers and gently stroked the table. The thin layer of dust on it revealed that the owner of the house had been away for many days.
"Ling Yu has always loved being clean. He won't let the table be covered with dust."
Bai Yanqing's mood was a little low again. The answer was clearly ready to come out, but she just didn't believe it.
"Ling Yu and Old Man Hua like Cai Xing so much. They are definitely not the ones who want to harm Cai Xing."
Bai Yanqing continued to mutter to herself.
Bai Yanqing walked out of the house and walked towards the backyard. The fruits and vegetables in the field were all a little wilted. It must have been that they hadn't been watered in a few days!
"They shouldn't be the informants. If they are, then why have they been guarding you all these years?"
At this moment, Ji Nanjing was wise for a rare moment. His rational analysis somewhat relieved Bai Yanqing's discomfort.
Then...who is it? Who is it that leaked Cai Xing's whereabouts? And who is it that exposed Cai Xing's identity?
Recalling the scene in the woods just now, Bai Yanqing asked leisurely: "Whose people are fighting those assassins? Yours? His Highness's? Or...the Emperor's?"
"If nothing else, they are the emperor's people. I won't let my people be wasted on such a trivial matter! The emperor has many people, so if he sends a few of his people, there won't be much loss!"
Ji Nanjing said proudly that he had accidentally exposed something.
"Wait! How do you know..."
Ji Nanjing was proud for a moment, and then he realized what he was doing! He looked at Bai Yanqing in surprise, his eyes filled with disbelief!
Bai Yanqing turned back and smiled slightly, but did not answer Ji Nanjing's questions. Her haggard face did not cover up the wisdom in her eyes at all.
…
I don't know how much time passed, but Yun Qi was tired of waiting for so long, and then he saw Bai Yanqing and Ji Nanjing not far away, walking back leisurely.
Bai Yanqing's thin figure looked extremely fragile in the wind, as if if the wind were stronger, she could be blown away!
"Lady!"
Yun Qi ran over quickly, put on the cloak Mo Ran handed over to Bai Yanqing.
Seeing that Bai Yanqing's expression returned to normal, Yun Qi felt relieved a little.
"Brother Jing, please stay for lunch today!"
It was not easy for Ji Nanjing to come all the way, Bai Yanqing thought, and he couldn't let him escape.
"There's no need for lunch. Seeing that you're feeling better now, I can go home! Otherwise, the two old men at home won't let me go!"
Ji Nanjing glanced at Bai Yanqing and saw that she looked the same, and he felt relieved.
Bai Yanqing didn't say anything to persuade Ji Nanjing to stay, and allowed him to get on the horse and ride away.
Staring at Ji Nanjing's disappearing back, Bai Yanqing raised her feet and turned around to go back to the house.
"Miss...are you okay?"
Mo Ran asked cautiously.
Bai Yanqing seemed not to have heard anything and walked towards the house on her own.
"Miss Bai is just a bit cold-tempered, but she... is actually very nice!"
Seeing that Bai Yanqing ignored Mo Ran, Yuan Li was afraid that Mo Ran would be embarrassed, so he quickly spoke up and defended Bai Yanqing.
"I know."
Mo Ran raised his head and smiled sweetly at Yuan Jiu. His cheerful look seemed to have not affected his mood at all!
Mo Ran's smile reminded Yuan Li of Cai Xing again. In the past, Cai Xing also had such a temper and would never be frightened away by Bai Yanqing's cold treatment.
"Ink dye."
Bai Yanqing's voice came from inside the house.
Hearing this, Mo Ran hurriedly ran into the house, leaving a confused Yuan Li missing Cai Xing in the courtyard.
Yuan Li knew Mo Ran, and he had met more or less the people around Yun Qi. However, Yuan Li always felt that there seemed to be some difference between the current Mo Ran and the former Mo Ran.
. But what exactly is the difference? Yuan Li can’t tell the difference!
"Mo Ran, I want to eat cold cucumbers. You can mix some for lunch."
Bai Yanqing said calmly without raising her head.
"Yes, miss! I'll go right away!"
Seeing that Bai Yanqing's complexion had recovered a little, Mo Ran was also happy. She nodded in agreement quickly, and then ran out.
Yun Qi was very happy when he saw that Bai Yanqing was finally willing to speak up and ask for food. But what followed was a hint of disappointment! Yun Qi tried his best to persuade Bai Yanqing, but when Ji Nanjing came,
Bai Yanqing was persuaded to eat! Not only that, Bai Yanqing seemed to have regained her former vitality!
His wife just listened to others' advice! Thinking of this, Yun Qi felt unspeakably uncomfortable.
"Your Highness!"
"Um?"
"thank you!"
Bai Yanqing suddenly spoke, which startled Yun Qi. He stared at Bai Yanqing blankly, and did not react for a long time!