"Yоu, уоu must lеave quiсklу!"
Shе hаd оnly been jоking еarlier, nеver eхресting sоmеone wоuld actually comе uр. Werе their vоiсеs tоo lоud?
Yеlü Liе stооd up.
"I will сome agаin."
"Yоu! Cоuld you return tо Khitan first?" Тhey wаlkеd tоgеthеr tоwаrd the window. Shе wаs almоst рlеading with him, unсonsсiоusly revеаling a рitiful, delicatе exprеssiоn.
Unаble tо resist, he held hеr tightlу аnd kissed hеr dеерlу. Нe hаd nеver sеen hеr displaу such оutwаrd tеndernеss bеfоrе, and it was for him.
"If уou want to achiеve a greаt feat, tеll the sоldiеrs I am hiding in thе alley of Rongchuan Alley. I will not leave until you give birth!"
"You..." She grabbed his collar.
But he gently stroked her belly.
"Whether it's a boy or a girl, I will not let our child share Dong Yin's fate."
"Dong Yin, is she alright?" Jun Qiluo cautiously watched his eyes; would he guess that it was Dong Yin who had helped her escape?
"I know. And I have dealt with it appropriately." He gave a cold smile.
Outside, the knocking grew more urgent, as if they were about to break in.
"You... she... she..." Her heart sank, unsure how to ask.
"I will tell you next time."
With those words, he leaped out of the window and disappeared into the night along the rooftops...
Not long after, Jun Chengliu had the servants break down the door and was the first to rush into the inner chamber.
"Qiluo! You..."
But there was no man here! Only his heavily pregnant daughter. His heart rose and fell, unsure how to proceed.
"What's the matter? What happened?" Jun Qiluo glanced indifferently at the six or seven servants holding sticks in the flower hall, as well as her father and younger sister in her bedroom.
Jun Jiangjuan walked around before saying, "Earlier, a maid passed by your pavilion and seemed to hear a man's voice in your room. She also said she saw two shadows cast by the candlelight! We thought there might be a thief! Sister, why didn't you speak up or answer the door just now?"
"I was sound asleep, how could there be a man? As a pregnant woman, even if there were a thief, they wouldn't target me."
Jun Qiluo struggled to maintain a calm expression, but her heart was filled with worry for him, unable to settle.
"It's fine as long as nothing happened! It's fine as long as nothing happened! Ah! Two foreigners have arrived in the city for no reason, and now everyone is on edge. No wonder people are being extra cautious!" Jun Chengliu dismissed the servants and walked out himself, instructing before leaving, "Jiangjuan, you stay with your elder sister tonight. It'll be safer and less frightening with two of you."
"Yes, Father."
After closing the door, Jun Jiangjuan helped her elder sister sit at the dining table.
"It's been so long, and you haven't touched your dinner. At least finish the nourishing soup."
Jun Qiluo stroked her belly; it wouldn't be good to starve the child. She took the chicken soup her younger sister served and drank it absentmindedly.
"Sister, why are your lips so red and swollen?" Jun Jiangjuan asked curiously. In the candlelight, she noticed her elder sister's lips were unusually crimson, different from their usual pink hue, and slightly fuller.
A blush spread across Jun Qiluo's cheeks. She quickly covered her mouth, flustered as she stared at Jiangjuan, unsure how to respond.
"Were they scalded by the chicken soup?" She touched the outside of the bowl. "No, it's not hot. The soup has already cooled."
Jun Qiluo skipped over the embarrassing question and asked, "How has Zheng Shuting been performing lately?""A few days ago, after we sent him ten taels of silver, I heard he’s started to appreciate his blessings more? He told Father that as long as Second Sister can return to him, he wants nothing else and won’t rely on the Jun family’s wealth anymore." Jun Jiangjuan’s face was full of disbelief. She didn’t believe a person’s "deep-rooted flaws" could be so easily changed.
"Maybe he can do it. Zheng Shuting has some backbone, especially after seeing reality clearly. If he doesn’t work hard to achieve success and earn a reputation, he’ll never be able to hold his head high for the rest of his life."
"Can backbone fill your stomach? Studying requires diligence. To say he’ll never rely on our family again... ha! Let’s hope he doesn’t become another joke for people to laugh at!"
Jun Qiluo shook her head with a smile.
"I think you’ll definitely never marry a scholar."
"I don’t want to marry a brute either." Suddenly, the image of a giant man appeared in her mind.
Strange? Why was her impression of him so vivid? That man was a brute, yet he carried himself with composure, not giving off a crude or unrefined vibe.
She tilted her small face. "Sister! I never knew that bookworm Zheng had such a giant friend! So tall, so strong, riding a big black horse—probably from the north. A few days ago, he was drinking with Zheng Shuting."
Jun Qiluo smiled, unconcerned.
"If you traveled more, you’d realize that men in the south lack some of the rugged grandeur. In the north, on the frontiers, there are tall, sturdy people everywhere. The variety of skin tones and hair colors is beyond your imagination. In the Dashi Kingdom, everyone’s skin is black, and some people have eye colors like gemstones—green, blue, gold... too many to count!"
Jun Jiangjuan let out a sigh.
"So, it’s not surprising if the Liao People have blue eyes? They aren’t monsters, right?"
"Of course not!" Jun Qiluo’s rebuttal was a bit too fervent. Seeing her sister’s sudden realization, she added awkwardly, "We can’t ignorantly treat them as monsters or aliens just because their hair or skin color is different. It’s simply because our knowledge is limited, and we assume everyone in the world should be like us. Jiang Juan, as merchants traveling across the world, we must have this kind of insight and understanding."
Jun Jiangjuan nodded, full of longing. "If only I could travel the world too, how wonderful that would be!"
"Yes!"
Strict codes of propriety had evolved into customary doctrines over thousands of years, like layers of silk cocoons, binding women inside for their entire lives, never seeing the light of day. They came to believe the cocoon was their entire world, living out their lives in ignorance.
How many more years would it take for women to break free from their cocoons?
The future offered not a glimmer of light. Jun Qiluo sighed softly—such was the sorrow of women...
Chapter 10
At noon the next day, the sounds of firecrackers, gongs, and drums echoed from outside.
The noise disturbed Jun Qiluo so much that her head ached, and perhaps it frightened the baby in her womb as well. She felt something strange in her belly today—not the usual kicking, but an unusual heaviness in her lower back, making her too lazy to get out of bed.
What was all the commotion outside?
"Sister! Sister! Good news!"
Jun Jiangjuan, not at all ladylike, lifted her skirt and rushed up to the small loft. Without even knocking, she barged straight into Jun Qiluo’s boudoir.
Jun Qiluo sat up halfway, frowning with a smile. "You have no semblance of a young lady. Has the sky fallen again?""What kind of good news could it be if the sky were falling? It's that those two Liao People were burned to death! Yesterday..."
"What?" Jun Qiluo shouted, immediately grabbing her sister's hand, her large eyes fixed on her with a fierce, desperate intensity.
"Say... say it again. How... how did they die?"
Jun Jiangjuan winced from the pain in her hand, not understanding why her eldest sister was so agitated and so utterly grief-stricken. Yet she continued, "Last night around the second watch, the soldiers searched the Zhang family ruins in Rongchuan Alley and found those two Liao People hiding there. They immediately called in all their forces, surrounding the ruins completely. Then they set a fire that burned the ruins clean to the ground. Those two Liao People probably knew they couldn't escape, so they didn't come out to fight the soldiers head-on. They were burned alive inside. Just now, the soldiers carried the two Liao corpses in cages through the city for display!
Although they were burned beyond recognition, their clothing and build clearly showed they were tall foreigners. I heard they'll be paraded all the way back to Bianjing!
This is wonderful! Now our Hangzhou city can thrive again, without having to live in fear every day!"
Jun Qiluo suddenly felt the world spinning around her. She clutched her own arm tightly, forcing herself to stay conscious, refusing to faint.
It can't be! He wouldn't die so easily! He wouldn't, he wouldn't have the heart to abandon her and their child like this...
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