Chapter 4: The Runaway Bride

  Lingyun had never liked this feeling of being unable to control things.

  Before mysteriously arriving in this era, he had a life he liked. Although not from a wealthy family, it was warm and happy, with both parents alive, and a girlfriend he had been dating since college, their new house was about to be decorated, the wedding date was approaching, and they were about to enter the hall of happiness together.

  But suddenly arrived here, more than a thousand years ago, the atmosphere was completely different. Although he had just fainted for several days after arriving here and only woke up now, he couldn't bear to stay any longer. There were no computers, no mobile phones, no internet, and no TV. He didn't even know his new identity except that it was the 18th year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty. A new body, a body that had forgotten its memories. If only that were the case, it wouldn't have made him so restless.

  The white-haired Qian Dafu from Gaoliang Village had already told him about his injuries. He didn't faint because of the water or wind, but because he was ambushed and suffered sword wounds. Moreover, it's very serious, with a total of five arrow wounds and two knife wounds on his body. If not for his strong physique and timely treatment, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Absurd, too absurd.

  He inexplicably crossed over, which was already absurd. But unexpectedly, he encountered such a huge crisis as soon as he came. Even if he were a modern soul, it was clear that his identity in the Sui Dynasty would be troublesome, very troublesome.

  What kind of person is this Ye Feng, and who wants to kill him? Is it a robbery or a vendetta from the jianghu?

  There is also this Gaojiazhuang, which is full of eerie and strange atmosphere everywhere, and step by step, it forces him to enter the marriage.

  Headache, Lingyun is really having a headache now.

  He is now facing a difficult choice, staying would mean being forced to marry into the Gao family and become a son-in-law to that albino beauty, and possibly even changing his surname to Gao. According to his understanding of this era's customs, this soft rice would be very unpalatable, and he estimates that he might live a very embarrassing life afterwards. Alternatively, he could try to escape from here, but although he has inherited this Sui Dynasty body, he doesn't have its memories. Except for a jade pendant with the words "Yi Feng" written on it, he knows nothing else. Who is he? Is Yi Feng his name? The most critical thing is, who injured him, and if he goes out now, will he be walking into a trap?

  Stay, don't stay, don't stay, stay...

  This is a room with the gloomy and humid atmosphere of March, quietly standing alone in a corner of the villa, surrounded by a wide pool. The only connection to the shore is a small corridor. The house is completely exposed in the open field of view, and the servants in the small pavilion outside are staring at it tightly. If it were summer, the lotus flowers would be blooming, and this would be a great place to enjoy the breeze. But now, this place is more like a prison, emitting deep silence and gloominess, and he is a prisoner within.

  But he knew that if he decided to leave, tonight would be his last chance. By dawn tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to escape, and by dusk tomorrow, he would be taken to the main hall to marry a woman he had only met once and exchanged a few words with.

  Leave or stay?

  This was a difficult choice, and Lingyun hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to leave. Perhaps the outside world was dangerous, but staying behind wasn't necessarily a good option either. As for Gao Qianshuo, he didn't particularly dislike him, but he couldn't just marry a stranger so casually. Moreover, this Gao family village seemed unusual in every way.

  The room was located in the center of the pool, with the doors and windows all sealed off, and there were also guards outside. The only wooden plank leading to the shore was heavily guarded. After careful observation, Lingyun finally gave up on the idea of escaping from the front door. However, what made Lingyun happy was that this was a wooden house built on water, and the entire small house was made entirely of wood. Although he couldn't fly away with wings, he could try to leave from underneath.

  It wasn't until the sky had completely darkened that Lingyun estimated it was already past 10 o'clock at night. After a good sleep to recharge his energy, he immediately opened his eyes. He quietly got up and tiptoed to the door and window, carefully listening for any movement outside. Only when he confirmed that the guards were dozing off in the small pavilion on the outer corridor did he walk satisfactorily to a corner he had already chosen earlier.

  The floor of the house was made of pine boards, and the small wooden house was actually built on stilts over the water. Underneath the thick grass mat that resembled a tatami, there was only one layer of pine board left. If Lingyun could find a way to pry open one or two boards, he could escape from under the water. The pine boards were nailed very tightly, but this didn't deter Lingyun. He had a small knife, which was brought with his dinner as a meat-cutting knife. Although the roasted mutton for dinner wasn't seasoned with cumin and was too gamey, he hadn't touched it much. But that little knife for cutting meat was well-preserved by him, and now it became his tool to rely on to escape.

  Lingyun's movements were serious and cautious, and after spending about two hours, he finally opened a hole on the floor that allowed him to leave. He put several pieces of dismantled wooden boards and pillows in the quilt, disguising himself as if he was sleeping soundly. After taking another look around the room, everything seemed normal, so he lifted the curtain, squeezed his body into the hole, and finally covered the entrance with a mat. With a slightly tense mood, he tensed up his body, trying to make the smallest splash and noise when he fell into the water.

  "Bang!" In the silent night, a sudden splash of water sounded, and Lingyun stood still in the water. He waited for about five minutes until he heard the creaking footsteps on the wooden board above his head, as well as the murmurs of the guards patrolling back and forth. Only when he confirmed that the guard had been deceived by the fake disguise made of wood and pillows did he let out a sigh of relief.

  The water was not deep, coming up to his chest.

  The pool water was cool on a deep spring night, but it couldn't stop Lingyun who had made up his mind to leave.

  Just as he carefully walked along the pool for a while and finally reached the shore, he saw Gao Qianshu under the willow tree by the shore. She was sitting quietly on the stone bench under the willow tree, her silver hair tied in a loose ponytail, scattered over her shoulders. And she was playing a game of chess alone on the stone table with her slender hands like jade. Tonight was originally cloudy and moonless, but now a bright full moon broke through the dark clouds and quietly appeared. "Miss Gao!"

  She raised her head and looked at him, "Young Master Yi." Her tone was solemn yet ethereal, "The moonlight tonight is beautiful, isn't it?"

  He smiled wryly, how did he not notice her sitting here just now? However, he would never believe that at this late hour, Gao Shanshan would actually come here alone to admire the moon. At this time, she was sitting alone, without even a maid or servant by her side, and not even a single lamp. "It's really beautiful, just now it was cloudy all over the sky, but now it's already a bright moon hanging high." The moon did not disappoint Miss Gao's expectations, after all, it was able to clear the clouds and reveal its splendor. Ling Yun jumped out of the pool, supporting himself on the edge, and sat down at the side of the pool, washing the mud off his feet with his back to Gao Shanshan. He could feel those eyes staring at him, but he tried his best to avoid them.

  "It's like waiting for the clouds to part and see the clear moon, but fallen flowers have feelings, flowing water has no emotions, in the end it will still be blown away by the rain and wind!" Her voice had a hint of desolation.

  "The melon squeezed too hard is not sweet!"

  Gao Qianxue's silver eyebrows slightly furrowed, "I heard Uncle Qian say that Yi Gongzi forgot who he was? Does he remember anything now?"

  "No?" Lingyun shook his head, he also hoped that the original memories of this body would suddenly emerge in his mind. That way, it would be very helpful to him, at least he would know his identity in this era, where his home was, what relatives were in his family, who his parents and siblings were, and most importantly, if he had memories, he would know who hurt him. Unfortunately, up to now, he had not gained any of these memories. However, what kept him holding on to a glimmer of hope was that he could speak this kind of Sui dynasty official language with a hint of Henan accent, which meant that he was not completely amnesiac about his original memories. Maybe one day, he would remember who he was, but that might be tomorrow, or it might never happen.

  "The young master's injury is not light, according to Qian Shu, the wound from the sword looks like it was caused by a military sword, not some mountain bandits trying to rob and kill. It seems more like an official soldier's sword." Gao Qiuxue said, her right hand holding a white chess piece between her thumb and index finger, emitting a faint glow in the dark night. "I think if you leave Gaojiazhuang now, it will be very dangerous."

  "If that's the case, I'll stay and it may also bring danger to Gaojiazhuang and Miss Gao." Lingyun believed Gao Shanshan's words, which made him feel a chill in his heart. If the person who wanted to kill him was an official, then he was really in trouble. He turned around and watched her make a move with the chess piece, the situation on the board was subtle, it was a good game of chess. Lingyun didn't particularly like Go, but before he went to university, he had studied Go for many years, and even when he was in elementary school, being a Go player was once his dream. He played too much Go when he was young, so after going to university, he rarely touched Go again, but his level of Go was still pretty good.

  "My family has already sent someone to investigate your identity, sir." Gao Qianshuang added another move, "However, things are not going smoothly. So far, we have been unable to gather any information about either Yifeng or Ban Yunling. The provinces of Yang, He, Jiang, Chang, Wu, and Huo all have no news." She sighed and said: "I plan to expand the scope of our investigation a bit further, to places like Hangzhou, Yuezhou, Xuzhou, etc. There's also something else I need to tell you. On the day we returned from the riverbank, I sent someone to investigate nearby areas, but nothing was found. The person who harmed you is not ordinary and has hidden very deeply. It's really too dangerous for you to leave now, especially since your memories of past events have been lost, where would you go? Why don't you just stay here?"

  "But you also said that those people are very dangerous, and if I stay, I might implicate you." Lingyun was very grateful to Gao Shanshuo for his help, no matter what, he should be thankful.

  Gao Qianxue felt the change on his face, "You don't have to worry about these things, Gaojiazhuang is not afraid."

  "An arm cannot twist a leg, who can go against the imperial court?" He turned his head back, looking at the pond under the white moonlight, with vague shadows floating nearby. In the 18th year of Emperor Yang of Sui's reign, the prestige of the Sui dynasty had reached its peak, and even the once powerful Turkic Khanate had been divided into two parts, and under the Sui dynasty's strategy of weakening the strong and strengthening the weak, as well as military attacks, they had been in a state of internal strife for over ten years. Last year, one part of them was defeated and surrendered to the Sui. How could a small place like Gaojiazhuang resist such a powerful force?

  She smiled lightly, "You're overthinking it, the person who hurt you used a military standard knife, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the imperial court chasing after you. If so, your wanted poster would have been plastered all over Jiangdong by now."

  "It's possible that even if military force is used and no trace can be found, it won't end simply." Lingyun understood this point very clearly.

  "When the soldiers come, we'll defend; when the water comes, we'll dam it. That's all." She smiled slightly, not too worried, and picked up another chess piece from the box. "Young master, as long as you agree to one condition, the Gao family will help you regain your identity and help you deal with these pursuers."

  Lingyun sighed, and in the end, it still came down to this issue. He just couldn't understand why Gao Qianxue was so infatuated with him. With her status, even if she were just a small landowner, shouldn't she be able to find a decent husband?

  "If I were to marry into the Gao family, it would be somewhat difficult for me to obey." He explained: "It's not that I'm dissatisfied with Miss Gao, being able to marry above one's station is a blessing, but as a man of honor and integrity, how can I possibly become a son-in-law?"

  "It's indeed a bit too much for someone to bear." Gao Qianxue nodded, "Then there's no need to intervene."

  Lingyun let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but unexpectedly she immediately continued: "If the young master marries and I get married, then there won't be any problem."

  "As for marriage, it has always been a matter of parental orders and matchmakers' words. Now that I've lost my memory, how can I rashly form relationships outside? Moreover, the young lady and I have only met a few times, and yet we're already discussing marriage - isn't this a bit too frivolous?"

  There was a beauty crying and shouting to marry herself, but Lingyun still wanted to refuse. This really wasn't his being overly cautious. It's just that he had always believed there was no free lunch in the world, and manna wouldn't fall from heaven, so regarding this matter, he had a few points of guard in his heart.

  Gao Qianxue shook her head and said, "I'm very clear about what I'm doing. At the age of twenty, I've actually reached the age of marriage. It's just that I haven't met a suitable husband yet. When I met you, young master, I felt that you were the one destined for me. That encounter was fate, it was destiny. I can sincerely tell you that this decision was made after careful consideration."

  These words were bold and passionate, but Lingyun was half-believing and half-doubting.

  Just as he was about to refuse again, Gao Qianxue suddenly dropped the chess piece in her hand and pulled out a silver dagger from somewhere.

  "To be honest, the day I met you, I wasn't swept away by the water. As he finished speaking, he placed the dagger at his own heart. The most painful thing in this world isn't losing something, but when you think you've obtained it, only to lose it again. Yi Gongzi, why did you save me that day and give me hope, only to cruelly take away that hope now? If so, then let us meet again in the next life."

  Damn it! Lingyun couldn't help but let out a low curse and felt an urge to shout loudly at the sky, "Why do I always encounter such things?"

  One cry, two fusses, three hangings, a woman's killer trick. He didn't think that even Gao Shanshuo, a fantastical woman who originally didn't eat human fireworks, would be different, but in the end, she was still the same. He couldn't tell if her behavior was an act or real, after all, just a few days ago he had rescued her from the river. Now, having refused the other party's proposal several times, she became furious and sought death. Although reason told him that this was probably just a ploy by this elf-like woman to force him into submission.

  "I'm willing!" Lingyun was unwilling to gamble, but he didn't want to either. Looking back, he was indeed in a dilemma with no way out. Thinking about the wounds on his body that hadn't healed yet and the numerous crises outside, maybe staying would be better after all.

  He took a deep breath and finally made up his mind. Rather than facing the unknown fears and dangers outside, he might as well stay here. At least, Gao Qianshuang was also a beautiful silver-haired woman. Forget it, after crossing into the Great Sui Dynasty, he would start by eating soft rice. In any case, at least now he didn't have to marry into the family as a son-in-law, which was already a significant progress.

  Gao Qianxue's body trembled slightly, and the silver dagger in her hand fell to the ground unnoticed. She seemed still somewhat beyond expectation.

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