Chapter 26: Unrestrained

  They returned to the Wenchuang Pavilion through the small gate behind the bamboo grove, and the two of them hurried along the way, rushing straight to the house where Xiao Chengyan lived. Everything in the bamboo grove was as usual, but it made Xiao Chengyan, who had been holding onto a glimmer of hope, unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

  She quietly walked to the front of her house, glanced around, and then pushed open the door. As she looked up, she was suddenly startled: "Big brother? When did you arrive?" She asked in a voice that was somewhat stiff with fear. Although she had never been afraid of Xiang Chengye, and had even left a note before going out, being caught off guard still made her heart feel uneasy.

  Xiao Chengye had actually been waiting in the house for a while, and his previous anger had long been replaced by worry. At this moment, when he saw the two return, he subconsciously let out a sigh of relief. But as soon as he heard Xiao Chengyan's question, which was not without guilt, he suddenly burst into anger: "I haven't even asked you what time you went out, and you're asking me what time I arrived? How unreasonable is that!"

  Seeing him get angry, Xiao Cheng's heart calmed down a lot: "We're back safely now, shouldn't big brother be happy?" She said with a smile. Her gaze swept lightly, and she had already seen Ling Yuanqing sitting on the side, not saying a word. It was clear that after discovering the two sneaking out, Xiao Cheng's heart was in a panic, but he didn't dare to make a fuss, and instead went to find Ling Yuanqing to discuss it.

  Xiao Chengye couldn't help but feel helpless upon hearing this. His younger sister had always been very opinionated since she was a child, and would often make shocking moves from time to time. Fortunately, she was cautious in her actions, and although she was stubborn, she rarely caused trouble. Not even Xiao Cang and his wife dared to question her decisions, trusting her completely. Just as Xiao Chengye was about to scold his sister a few times before dropping the matter, his gaze suddenly shifted and fell on the stone-blue cloud-patterned outer garment that Xiao Chengyan was wearing.

  "What's going on with your clothes?" His eyebrows suddenly gathered into a "川" shape, and he asked in a deep voice. His face looked quite unpleasant.

  Xiao Chengxian had guessed that this matter would be hard to conceal, and after pursing her lips, she reluctantly said: "I was bumped into by someone on the road!"

  Although she tried her best to downplay the matter and pass it off lightly, Xiao Chengye heard this and couldn't help but shout in anger: "What? You were knocked by someone? You're a renowned lady from a prestigious family, yet you got knocked on the street like that?"

  Seeing him like this, Xiao Chengyan couldn't help but feel helpless. After sighing, she said: "Big brother, can you not shout so loudly?"

  It wasn't until she reminded him that Xiang Chengyan suddenly realized that his own sister was now disguised as a man, and this was an inn. Moreover, at this time, there were also other people present besides themselves. With an awkward cough, he coldly asked, "Who bumped into whom?"

  Her eyes flickered slightly, and Xiao Cheng was hesitant about how to bring up the matter at this time. However, Yan Dai on the other side had already spoken up: "Big Brother Xiao must have misunderstood! In my opinion, the person who bumped into Sister Xiao was just in a hurry and a bit reckless, not intentionally doing so!"

  Xiao Chengye was taken aback, and then turned to look at Yuan Dai. Earlier, he was so furious because Xiao Chengyan had been bumped into. After all, on the main road, everyone can pass by, and occasional collisions are inevitable. So, he angrily asked who bumped into her, mainly because he thought that the person who bumped into Xiao Chengyan had recognized her as a woman and had intentionally bumped into her with ill intentions.

  It wasn't until now that she heard it wasn't. The anger in her heart had just slightly subsided. Xiao Chengyan only then came to herself, gave a cold glance at her own older brother, and without saying anything, hastily stepped inside, also ordering Qiaolan to bring new clothes to wait on her as she changed.

  Outside, a voice still came from afar, neither fast nor slow: "We just went out for a moment and bought two strings of sugar gourds. That reckless guy rushed up and collided with us. Sister Xiao was very displeased with his recklessness and asked him to compensate for the clothes. But this person was too poor to afford it. In desperation, I had no choice but to make him sell himself into slavery to repay slowly. He agreed!"

  "Be a slave? Such an impetuous person, my Xiao Fu would not dare to use!" He said so, but his tone had eased a lot. Apparently, he also felt more comfortable in his heart.

  It turned out that Ling Yuancheng was listening to the four words "sell oneself as a slave" and couldn't help but ask in surprise: "You actually brought that person back?"

  The distant voice of Waizai sounded again: "This is not the case! It seems that someone in his family is ill, and after agreeing to be a slave, he asked us for a loan of several taels of silver. We didn't expect it, so we gave him five taels. Who would have thought that he took the silver and ran away? The two of us weak women couldn't catch up with him, so we had no choice but to give up!"

  Xiao Chengyan had already changed her clothes and came out from inside, responding in a loud voice: "Exactly! That slave is really bold, snatching the silver and running away with his legs, only stopping halfway to ask where we live. Truly, he doesn't know any rules!"

  Xiao Chengye furrowed his brow and asked, "Did you tell him where he lives?"

  Xiao Chengyan shook her head and said, "Ninth sister only told him that we live in Wenxuan Pavilion, but she didn't say anything else!" As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and turned to Yuandai, asking in surprise, "How did you know that someone is ill at his home? He never mentioned it!"

  Yu Dai's smile faded as she gazed at Xiao Xian with a discerning eye, saying: "Luckily, sister is still skilled in medicine from a young age! That person not only has a strong smell of Chinese herbal medicine on his body, but also has some medicinal liquid stains on his sleeves and chest. Since he himself is unharmed, it's likely that someone in his household is ill!"

  Xiao Chengxian suddenly realized: "So that's it! I was wondering why my sister agreed to marry him for money!"

  With a sly smile, Farong blinked at her and said, "Sister, have you forgotten? I am extremely skilled in the art of physiognomy!"

  Suddenly hearing this sentence, Xiao Chengyan couldn't help but "pfft" and laughed loudly.

  Xiao Chengye and Ling Yuqing looked at each other in dismay, both bewildered. They wanted to ask questions, but they knew the two might not be willing to say anything, so it was better not to touch this sore spot. After a pause, Xiao Chengye asked seriously: "I'd like to ask you, if that person really comes looking for us, how do you plan to deal with him?"

  Xiao Chengyan didn't mind, and casually said: "We came down the mountain yesterday, and today it's already late. Let's play another day tomorrow, and at the latest, we'll return to Lü'e Ridge by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. If he really comes as promised, our house won't skimp on a meal for him either."

  She spoke casually, clearly not taking the matter to heart. On the other side, Duan Yu heard her words but didn't bat an eyelid, wanting to say something, but when he looked up and saw Xiang Yun and Shao Yan nodding in agreement, he ultimately swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.

  Xiao Chengye listened to his sister's words and found them quite reasonable, so he didn't dwell on the matter anymore. He nodded slightly and said: "Wei Jie has already moved to Cuizhu Garden! Later, we'll all go back to Lü Yuangling together. Also, about you two sneaking out secretly, don't mention it in front of Shimei, or she might get angry again!"

  The two had already secretly heard about Lu Weijie's affairs beforehand, and now that they were listening to it, they didn't find it unexpected at all. They nodded in agreement with each other.

  Xiao Chengye said, "Now that Weijie is here, let's eat separately as before while we're in this garden!" After the two nodded in agreement, he stood up and called out to Ling Yuqing to leave. As they reached the door, he suddenly remembered something and said, "It's getting late, why don't you two go visit your sister earlier?"

  As soon as he said this, Yu Dai suddenly remembered something and hurriedly got up and called out: "Sixth Brother!"

  Ling Yuancheng naturally stopped in his tracks when he heard her call out, and turned around to ask in surprise: "Does Ninth Sister still have something to say?"

  She smiled and walked forward, pulling out the IOU from her sleeve and handing it to Ling Yuqing: "Thanks for your trouble, Sixth Brother!"

  Staring at the strange paper in his hand and the scribbled handwriting that was barely legible, Ling Yuancheng finally managed to make out what it was after a long while, and incredulously exclaimed: "A promissory note?"

  Her bright eyes gazed at Ling Yuqing, and Far Dai nodded seriously: "Sixth Brother is indeed knowledgeable and insightful!"

  As soon as these words came out, Xiao Chengye and Ling Yuqing couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, and they really had an urge to knock their heads against the ground.

  It was easy to get rid of the two, and Xiao Chengyan finally turned to Yuan Dai without complaint: "They were going to leave anyway, but you had to take out that IOU, which wasted a lot of words!"

  With a charming smile at her, Yuan Dai said: "Although it cost some words, but didn't we save five taels of silver?"

  Xiao Chengxian was taken aback for a moment, and then burst out laughing uncontrollably. After she finished laughing, she looked at Yuan Dai with a serious expression: "These days, sister is quite different from before?" This sentence had obviously been hidden in her heart for some time, so it came out very smoothly: "When I first met you, sister, I always felt that your personality was light and airy, to put it bluntly, even a bit reclusive. But since deciding to marry Ruiqin Wang, you seem to have become more carefree and uninhibited..."

  Apparently she didn't expect her to suddenly mention this, and after a moment of stunned silence, Yuandai suddenly said: "If someone were to tell you that you only have three days left to live, what would you do?"

  Suddenly hearing this, Xiao Cheng's spirit woke up, and he stared at Yuan Dai in shock. He furrowed his brow and said: "Could it be that in your eyes, marrying Prince Rui is worse than death?"

  Xie Xiu shook her head, and Yu Dai said: "Sister, you've gone too far! In my opinion, no matter who I marry in the future, it's already different from before! And it's impossible to go back to the past! Does sister think my words still make some sense?"

  Xiao Chengxian remained silent for a long time before sighing and saying: "I understand what you mean, sister!"