Chapter 24: Rescuing a Person
"It seems the lady has misunderstood something." After a moment of contemplation, He Yan finally spoke.
If she had kept silent, it would have been better. As soon as she opened her mouth, Tang Ying became agitated, pointing a finger at her and scolding, "Misunderstanding? You and Fan Cheng had a relationship before I entered this household, and even after I married him, things remained unclear. Are you happy being someone else's mistress? I see you are hopelessly stubborn, still thinking of becoming the mistress of the Fan family!"
He Yan felt a headache coming on.
This lady was truly unreasonable. Though she was beautiful and graceful, her words were harsh. He Yan replied earnestly, "If the lady inquires carefully, she will find that I only knew Young Master Fan before, but since you entered this household, I have not sought him out again."
"You lie! If you hadn't sought him out, how could he have sent you gifts?"
"I am quite troubled by that as well. If the lady could persuade Young Master Fan not to do such things, I would be immensely grateful."
After she said this, she saw Tang Ying stagger a few steps and collapse into a chair, tears streaming down her face. "Scoundrel... truly a scoundrel!"
He Yan looked at her with some sympathy; even a fool could see that Fan Cheng was not a suitable match. Even if she didn’t pursue He Yan, he would eventually seek out other women. He Yan had no interest in this Young Master Fan, but there were plenty of others in the world willing to lower themselves for a chance at a better life. This daughter of a high-ranking official was more than a match for Fan Cheng; with such beauty and background, tying herself to him for life was indeed a pity.
The maid and the old woman beside Tang Ying hurriedly moved closer, whispering words of comfort. After a while, Tang Ying finally dried her tears.
"You little wretch, you’re so good at lying. How could I trust your nonsense for even a moment?" she said.
"What does the lady want, after all?" He Yan glanced at the sky. "It's getting late; I should return."
"Return?" It was the old woman who had been comforting Tang Ying. "You've done such shameless things and still want to leave? You must stay here until our lady decides how to deal with you!"
He Yan replied, "…Are you daring to imprison me without consent?"
The old woman looked at He Yan with disdain. "Coming from a small family, you just don’t understand. How can this be considered imprisonment? Since you are someone our young master has taken a liking to, you are half a member of the Fan family. As the mistress, isn’t it right for the madam to discipline a servant? Even if you report us to the authorities, we would still be justified!"
He Yan couldn’t help but laugh in anger; there was no such absurdity in the world.
Seeing He Yan smile, Tang Ying, who had been hesitant, suddenly became furious and ordered, "Bind her up and throw her into the inner room! Let her go hungry for a night, and tomorrow we’ll see if she’s still so arrogant!"
After all, she was a young lady from a prominent family, just married into her husband’s family, and hadn’t yet learned the ruthless and severe methods of a powerful household. Wanting to vent her anger, she thought binding someone and scaring them would suffice. He Yan sighed in relief; as long as they didn’t resort to knives, she wasn’t afraid. She was just worried about causing trouble for the He family with her identity as Miss He.
The group of women rushed forward, binding He Yan up like a little chicken. He Yan remained completely still, obediently allowing them to tie her up, which only made Tang Ying feel even more frustrated.
Once they finished binding her, they tossed He Yan onto the bed in the inner room. A maid asked, "Madam, should we leave someone here to watch over her…"
"Leave someone?" Tang Ying snapped. "Let her be alone here. When night falls, let’s see if she’s afraid. If a thief happens to come by," she revealed a malicious smile, "I wonder if Fan Cheng would still want her!"
The group left in a grand procession, and the courtyard fell silent.
He Yan lay flat on the bed, her hands and feet bound, quietly staring at the bed curtains.
To be honest, the bed was quite soft, and the curtains seemed to be made of fine gauze. It seemed that the young mistress Fan was treating her, the prisoner, rather well. Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret; the house where Madam Fan casually stayed was more luxurious than the one the He family had painstakingly built.
And this house remained empty most of the time; wasn’t that a waste?
Lost in her thoughts, He Yan confirmed that there was no more movement outside. After a while, she began to move her hands and feet.
The bindings were somewhat uncomfortable, but the method of tying was haphazard, like wrapping zongzi. She tried to reach for the knot; after all, during her time in the military, she had spent ten whole days learning how to tie and untie knots. This kind of unmethodical knot was the easiest to undo.
He Yan felt the shape of the knot, confirmed she could untie it, and reached out to do so. Just as she was about to make a move, she heard footsteps outside. The footsteps were very light; her keen hearing discerned that it was a man, so she halted her actions and turned her head to look towards the door.
Could it be that Tang Ying was right, and there really was a thief?
The footsteps approached step by step, and He Yan began to feel a bit nervous. She rummaged through her sleeve for a long time until she found a sharpened bamboo stick.
It was too expensive to forge a hidden weapon at the weapon shop, and now she was living frugally, even making her own weapons from bamboo. He Yan thought to herself, feeling a bit sad.
The footsteps had reached her side, and the door was pushed open. A man dressed as a guard walked in.
He hadn’t expected He Yan to be awake; her mouth was stuffed with a piece of torn cloth, and she was quietly watching him, which startled him. He quickly approached and whispered in her ear, "Miss He, you need not be afraid. The young master sent me to rescue you."
So it wasn’t a thief; it was a rescuer.
The guard removed the cloth from He Yan's mouth and hoisted her onto his shoulder. "I’ll take you out first."
He Yan was very uncomfortable in this position; it made her feel like a captive being dragged away to be executed by the enemy.
But since others had good intentions, she couldn’t say anything.
The guard took He Yan to a carriage, and they quickly left the Fan family residence. He Yan remained silent, which made the guard feel a bit uneasy.
He had expected to hear He Yan crying and screaming when he entered, as she was supposed to be a timid and delicate woman. Who would have thought that when he came in, she was completely calm? Even with her mouth bound, her expression showed curiosity and caution, but no fear.
The guard had never seen such a woman before, and he felt an inexplicable tremor in his heart. Fortunately, the carriage moved quickly, and after about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, they arrived.
The guard helped He Yan down from the carriage.
The sky was completely dark.
The spring river at night had lost the daytime's liveliness, becoming quiet and serene. On such a night, many pleasure boats should have been floating about, with music and dancing, drinking and revelry. But due to the heavy rain today and the cold wind, only a few scattered boats drifted on the river, with a faint fishing light, making it seem particularly desolate.
He Yan looked up, the fine rain falling on her face, cool and itchy. She gazed into the distance and asked, "Why have you brought me here?"
The guard didn’t dare to look at her face and clasped his fists, saying, "The young master is waiting for you on the boat ahead. I will take you there now."
Wishing all the children a happy holiday! May you be happy every day! o(*≧▽≦)ツ
(End of Chapter)
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