"I have to go now."

As I finished saying this, I heard his breath sinking a little.

I know that this person has always been the most sober and will not easily let himself fall into illusions and dreams, but at this moment, when he heard this from me, the expression in his eyes seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and faced with the reality in front of him, he was a little at a loss.

He looked at me and then at Li'er.

After a long time, he said, "It's time to leave."

"..." I glanced at him and said nothing more. Instead, I lowered my head and walked past him. Li'er stood there and looked at him at a loss. It seemed that both feet had roots on the ground. Although the person was shaking, he took every step forward.

I turned around and said, "Li'er, I'm leaving with my mother."

“…”

She raised her head and looked at Pei Yuanhao's drooping face. After a long time, she finally lowered her head, slowly walked to me, holding my hand.

I smiled at her, but there was no room for me to praise her obedience and sensibility. I just pinched her small hand and took her out. The injuries on my ankle seemed much more serious than I had expected before. Every step I took was like a blunt knife cutting my ankle bone. I even suspected that I had left blood all the way, but the people behind me didn't say a word, just silent.

And I was also silent, enduring the piercing pain, and walked to the door step by step.

But just as I walked to the door and was about to step out, a sound of footsteps sounded behind me, and I walked towards us in a hurry. My heart suddenly sank, a hint of horror flashed in my eyes, and I looked back at him.

Pei Yuanhao had already walked behind us, and was so close that he had no concealed his cold and urgent expression in his eyes, and he could see it at all.

What is he going to do?

Just when fear arose in my heart, he stopped and forced himself to hold back the urgency in his eyes, looked at Li'er with a faint gentleness, and then looked at me again: "I'll give it to you."

"..." I frowned slightly: "No need."

"I want it!"

This time, Li'er spoke, she held my hand in the back hand and shook it gently: "Okay, mom."

“…”

"Before, he sent me across the river."

“…”

"Okay?"

She looked up at me, and the light in her eyes seemed to be wet. I could almost feel the anxiety in her heart, but she didn't say a word, just grabbed my hand so gently and shook it.

I felt that her heart seemed to be pinched by her, and it hurt slightly.

After a moment of silence, I finally nodded: "Okay."

After saying that, he looked up at Pei Yuanhao again, and didn't know what else to say, so he turned around, and he had already walked up, took Li'er's other hand, and led us out of the teahouse.

At this time, the sky was already dark. The lantern festival that had experienced a drastic change did not continue. All the people were so scared that they retreated back to their homes, leaving one by one. There was no one else on the street except for three steps and one by one, five steps and one by one. The lanterns that no one appreciated were still hung on both sides, emitting gorgeous and lonely light.

|

We took a carriage and soon arrived at the riverside pier.

At this time, there was already heavy fog on the river, and thick fog filled the wide river surface. It was almost impossible to see the scene in the middle of the river, nor could the ups and downs of the river. Only the swelling sounds from the depths of the water mist were heard, as if a person's heart was beating, rising and falling.

The ship also slowly undulates with the river.

My steps kept staggering. After getting on the boat, I held the fence in one hand and looked at the foggy river in a anxious mood. Although it was too late, Pei Yuanxiu should not be so impulsive. After all, there was no substantial conflict between the two sides, and he should not do anything.

But for some reason, the more I think this way, the more I comfort myself, the more cold sweats spread out.

Li'er stood beside me, looked up at me, and said softly: "Mom, do you feel very painful?"

I looked down at her.

She hurriedly took out her handkerchief from her sleeve, raised her hand and carefully wiped the sweat on my forehead: "You've been sweating a lot, isn't it painful?"

As soon as she finished speaking, before I could answer, Pei Yuanhao had already said: "If it hurts, I--"

I hurriedly said, "No."

"..." He looked at me.

"I'm not in pain."

As he said that, he glanced at him and then looked at the fog that was simmering on the river. He looked at me with my eyes, as if he understood something and became silent.

The boat finally got anchored. As the boatman called out, he slowly turned around and drove towards the middle of the river. He felt that the river water kept rising and falling, and even some large waves pounced on the bow of the boat. The splashed water poured on our faces. I just reached out and wiped my cheeks gently, still looking at the river.

The water mist hits with the splashing foam.

When the boat passed by and slowly entered the middle of the river, the wind and waves on the river became even stronger. It seemed that an invisible black hand was stirring the water under the water, trying to wrap our ship into the darkness.

And at this time, I saw a faint light coming from the depths of the mist.

That's-

My breathing was suffocated.

The sweat on my forehead had been wiped away by Li Er and was also dried by the wind, but the cold sweat in my palm kept coming out. When I was only holding the wooden railing, I felt sweaty in my palm. As the boat moved forward little by little, approaching Jinling little by little, the hand I held the fence was even harder.

That faint light became stronger and stronger as we got closer and closer.

Even, in addition to the sound of water waves, there were even louder sounds on the shore. Gradually, it had already overwhelmed the waves on the river, becoming louder and louder, and even caused the waves in the river to ripple.

Then, the tall outlines of several large ships slowly emerged in the thick fog.

My eyes widened immediately.

There have been no such large ships docking in the port of Jinling these days, and the outlines of those ships do not look like ordinary merchant cargo ships. Even if the fog is filled, it exudes a hint of hostility, which makes people feel extremely uneasy.

My breathing became tense and I turned to look at Pei Yuanhao.

He also saw that scene, but his face did not change much. He just watched the ships slowly passing through the thick fog and clearer outlines, and his eyes became colder. At this time, Wu Yanqiu, who was waiting beside him, also saw it, walked up with some anxiety, and whispered in his ear: "Master, the situation in Jinling is not very correct."

“…”

"I'm afraid they're ready--we can't go there anymore."

“…”

"just in case--"

He didn't say anything, but just raised his hand to stop Wu Yanqiu from continuing.

Wu Yanqiu wanted to speak but stopped, but his face became even more anxious. As the boat sailed to the south along with the river, not only the outlines of the big ships became clearer, but even the continuous firelight on the shore could be seen clearly.

My face was also illuminated by the firelight passing through the mist.

When I looked up, there seemed to be many people gathering on the pier, with crowds of people, and the noisy sounds gradually overshadowed the river waves. Those people held torches in their hands, forming a circle in the night, rising and falling with the river wind, like a sea of ​​fire. The fire not only illuminated the river bank, illuminated the dock, but also illuminated the river water on the shore, throwing the scorching temperature and color into the river.

As the river water flowed, my eyes could hardly be suppressed, so I looked at the water army camp not far away. The camp has seemed much quieter these days, but from the conversations between the common people today, I also knew that it was not quiet at all, but just a brief calm before the storm came.

Now, the water army camp is brightly lit, and I can even clearly see many people running and following.

Although Li'er had been traveling around the river for a long time, it was the first time he saw such a dock in the night. He was shocked for a moment and looked there with his eyes wide open.

Seeing the distance getting closer, Wu Yanqiu became anxious and said anxiously: "Master, you can't go there anymore."

Pei Yuanhao still didn't say anything, just looked at the south side quietly.

It was not my illusion. At this moment, although the fog was everywhere, his eyes slowly became sharp in the fog, and an invisible knife repeatedly appeared, which had already sheathed in his eyes.

My mood couldn't help but feel even heavier.

In the pier in Jinling, except for the day when Pei Yuanxiu and I were married, there was never such a scene. I am afraid that it was because Li Er and I had not returned after the agreed time. But I also know that it was not entirely because of this reason - from that camp, from the urgency of the Han sisters, from the saying "The Han family has a daughter, and will be in the world," from the letters in Pei Yuanxiu's study, from their increased income and taxes... I already knew that all peace is only temporary.

My expectations were originally different from his expectations.

Thinking of this, the feeling of needle pricking seemed to fall on my heart, and it hit my heart with constant dull pain.

Seeing our ship getting closer and closer to the south bank, Pei Yuanhao had no intention of stopping at all. Wu Yanqiu became more and more anxious, and even looked at me in a panic, as if he hoped that I could persuade Pei Yuanhao and let him stop there.

I frowned, looked at the shore, and then looked at Pei Yuanhao.

"you--"

Before I could say anything, I suddenly felt a wave surging beside me, and several boatmen on the boat shouted. We subconsciously turned our heads and saw a ship breaking through the thick fog and catching up quickly from behind. In an instant, we were already running side by side with our ship.

And the person on the boat was Wen Fengxi!

My breathing was suffocated and I subconsciously looked behind him, but behind him were all those fully armed soldiers, and there were no other familiar figures.

When Li'er saw him, she seemed to be stunned for a moment. Her eyes also swept around her. After finding nothing, she felt a faint sense of gloom and slowly lowered her head.

At this time, Wen Fengxi had already shouted: "Your Majesty! You can't go there anymore!"

This sound was like a silent thunder that shocked everyone.

I clearly felt Li'er gasp.

But her hands holding the fence were tighter and she didn't look back.

Pei Yuanhao, after looking back at me, his eyes flashed and slowly looked at Li'er who was facing us with his back. Looking at her small figure who seemed so thin and slender in the wind, a trace of pain that seemed like a needle was pricked in his eyes.
Chapter completed!