She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

These words were like a spider's thread, which invisibly nailed Ah'ao to the spot, and her limbs became stiff.

"You are actually... the one who was with Zhao Hou in Dangshan, Madam Zhao Hou?"

Chu Qingfang, who had been crying non-stop, also stopped crying, and now they were all looking at Zhao Zhuo who was holding his wife in his arms.

Zhao Zhuo looked at the eyes of the people below and realized that he was the only one who had been kept in the dark for so long.

The former lifesaver suddenly became the murderer who might kill his friend. For Zhao Zhuo, who had just suffered the death of his wife, it was almost a devastating blow.

He felt his arms trembling constantly and his knees were so weak that he could hardly stand, so he had to slowly put Pingniang on the stairs.

Ah'ao looked at his movements and couldn't utter a word of explanation.

All the words are pale and cold.

I knew that one day my identity would be revealed in front of Zhao Zhuo, but I didn't expect it to be revealed so suddenly and without any plan.

But this was not the fault of anyone present. Not Mrs. Zhou, not Zheng Da, not Ping Niang who died, and certainly not Chu Qingfang who was standing at the door with wounds all over his body.

If a person does something against his conscience and tries to gain the kindness of others, he will eventually shoot himself in the foot.

"What do you want to ask? I'll tell you the truth later." A's eyes looked up at him calmly.

Mrs. Zhou walked silently to the door and helped Chu Qingfang up. She was like a frightened cat, her eyes dodging everywhere and trembling when touched. She dragged her weak legs and couldn't stand steadily for a while.

"Who sent you here?" Ah'ao turned around and grabbed Chu Qingfang's elbow.

Chu Qingfang didn't expect that she would meet her here.

She seldom went out during this period. She only knew that there seemed to be two female shopkeepers in East Street whose businesses were booming and who were planning happy events in a unique way. Even Zhao Hou asked her to hold a banquet for his mother's death at Zhang Hai's family dinner.

Unexpectedly, this person turned out to be A'ao.

It turned out that Hengzhi actually allowed her to do such an indecent thing.

On the one hand, Chu Qingfang's heart was in confusion and grief, but on the other hand, she was calmly thinking about Ah's identity. Her thoughts were like arrows from the sky, piercing her thoroughly.

A's palms were warm and dry, and just holding her arm made Chu Qingfang feel at ease.

And she suddenly understood why Yun Cong had firmly told her in her ear to run to East Street when she was escaping, so that she could survive.

It turned out that Hengzhi was betting on the tacit understanding between them that Ah-yi would definitely save Chu Qingfang. Even when she ran to the city, there was no one chasing her.

It turns out that her life could also be part of his gamble.

"Young, young marquis." Chu Qingfang's teeth kept chattering, and when a sound came out of her throat, she felt the pain like a knife cutting and the fishy and sweet taste of blood.

Hengzhi's idea really worked.

Ah'ao didn't know what had happened to him today, but it was obvious that Chu Qingfang's staying here was in full view of the streets and it was not a good place to hide.

"Zheng Da, there is something I can only entrust to you." Ah's sleeve wiped the blood off Chu Qingfang's face, then looked at Zheng Da, "Can you please take the opportunity to deliver the sacrifice to the private residence of Marquis Zhao and bring her to the private residence. Just tell her that the young marquis's wife said to give her to a maid named Yunli."

He took off the peach buckle on his waist and handed it to Zheng Da, "Take this as a token of trust. Yunli will know about it."

Yunli picked this buckle out of the warehouse for A'an. She said that the skirt A'an wore everyday was too plain, so she insisted on hanging it on A'an as a decoration.

But it came in handy at this moment.

"Don't worry, ma'am." Zheng Da quickly took the veil that Zhou's wife was wearing from the wooden platform and handed it to Chu Qingfang, "I will definitely send her there safely."

Chu Qingfang hugged Ah's waist, tears streaming down her face again, "I, I'm scared."

Ah-yi frowned immediately, "Are you afraid of death?"

Chu Qingfang was stunned by the pain, and the next moment, Ah-yi carried him like a little chicken to Zheng Da, "If you don't want to die, just follow me. Don't be afraid when you get home. Heng-yi will protect you."

Like hot soup, this sentence soothed Chu Qingfang's flustered heart. It was not because of the last sentence, but because Ah-yi said "home".

Home.

When she had experienced many ups and downs and her mother died in front of her eyes, Ah's kindness of just two words was like a timely help.

It was a life-saving fire when she was about to be covered and swallowed by the bone-chilling snow.

But A'ao was in a completely opposite psychological situation.

She only had two hands, each of which was stuffed with a hot potato. At this moment, it would be a good thing to get rid of one of them.

General Zheng took away the basket of white candles and paper flowers and locked the huge shop. Now there were only three of them, a dead body, and a child who had lost his mother.

"Ask." Ah'ao sat down in the chair tiredly, but her hand vigilantly touched the place under the chair where the dagger was hidden.

The room seemed to have suddenly grown cold, and the oil-paper lanterns, which usually looked warm in color, were now swaying sadly in the wind.

"Zhang Shiliu..." Zhao Zhuo stared at her, his hostility suddenly increasing, like quenching the unmelted ice on the eaves.

At this moment, A'ao suddenly thought of Hengzhi.

His momentum, which was indistinguishable from real, was like a surging tide, making it hard to fathom. To grasp his demeanor and movements, Ah-yi placed her arm on the armrest of the chair and pinched her finger bones, "Zhang Shiliu is dead. The young marquis and I were ambushed on the way back to the villa with him on Dangshan Mountain. He was killed by the people from Beitang."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhuo's body stiffened.

Ah-yi's eyes were fixed on Zhao Zhuo, and she quickly noticed his abnormality and continued, "Bei Tang, you should be very familiar with him."

Her soft and slow words sounded like a slow knife killing someone to Zhao Zhuo's ears.

It turns out that she knew everything.

"You must be wondering why I know your relationship with them." Ah'ao became more relaxed and even smiled. "Because the person who was outside the window of Feiqin Inn that night and who you heard riding a horse and chasing Zhang Shiliu was me."

Zhao Zhuo was like a deaf man who had been kept in the dark and suddenly regained his hearing. A'ao's words were like heavy hammers hitting the drum surface one after another, shocking him so much that he was shocked.

"So you didn't consider me as your enemy in your heart, because I didn't kill Zhang Shiliu. Instead, it was his loyal Bei Tang who killed his own spies and hunted you down, causing you to end up in this situation."

"Yes and no?"

Zhao Zhuo recalled that the last words Zhang Shiliu said to him when he escaped that night were "If I survive, I will come to find you."

People probably know their destiny in their hearts, but this kind of prediction cannot be explained by the books of sages or deduced by the hexagrams of the Book of Changes.

Whenever we say words like this, it means we are saying goodbye forever.

When they delivered messages on behalf of Bei Tang, they always started with the sentence, "You are declining, why won't you come back?"

Zhao Zhuo once asked Zhang Shiliu what this meant.

At that time, Zhang Shiliu was grazing a few sheep he raised halfway up the mountain. He sat on the top of the mountain in a carefree manner, looking at the sky.

"The noble families have closed their eyes and ignored the people. If the court is unkind, it will overturn the New Deal. If people want to survive, they can swallow their anger for a while, but they cannot be oppressed forever."

Zhang Shiliu had been to many places in Dachong.

The poor and sick people in the villages in the dense forests and deep mountains, but the emperor needs trees to build palaces and people to make tiles. The people in the border towns have no place to live because Youbei and Lunan have offended and provoked. The generals have returned from hundreds of battles. The court does not provide military expenses, so it wants to collect money and food from the people.

Because there are now three places in Da Chong, with the capital in the middle, people cannot travel freely when doing business or visiting friends, and there are always many regrets if they cannot meet the locals.

Zhao Zhuo was born in Wuling Road. He did not have the lofty ambitions of Zhang Shiliu, nor did he have the desire to rob the rich and help the poor. He felt bitter, but not as bitter as Zhang Shiliu said.

But this is the creed that everyone in Beitang adheres to in their hearts.

But it was this original intention that he adhered to that cost him his life.

"Yes." He stood alone, his shoulders slumped, "But you saved me on purpose, didn't you want to take revenge on me?"

Ah'ao let out a long sigh and thought to herself, I'm not some evil ghost. A living person fell in front of me. Isn't it reasonable for me to save you out of my instinctive sympathy?
With this barrier, even if one is truly kind-hearted, there is no way to defend oneself.

Fortunately, he had endured all the pain today, and it seemed that he was not only frightened by A's words, but also there was no possibility of any danger.

"I want to get news about Beitang from you, which does not conflict with my sympathy for Pingniang and your young son. If I hadn't saved you, your family of three would have died a month ago. You know that, right?"

Zhao Zhuo shook his head repeatedly, as if reminding himself not to be moved by her words, and murmured, "I won't tell you, I won't!"

Mrs. Zhou tugged at A's sleeve from behind and glanced at Pingniang who was still on the ground.

Ah's eyes dimmed, and she knew that this was not the right time. "You don't have to tell me now, but if you walk out of this door and wander around for a few days and are discovered by the people in Beitang, even the child will die with you, so you must listen to me."

Speaking of children, Zhao Zhuo was stunned for a moment. Yes, he still had a wife whose body was still warm, and a child who was still young and ignorant.

"You've heard about it, too. Today, the wife of a military officer was killed on the way. This was the work of Bei Tang." Ah-yi walked a few steps closer. "There is a charity cemetery outside the city. If you are worried, you can take Pingniang there first. Sister Zhou and I will keep vigil for her together."

After much persuasion, this man was finally convinced.

After Chu Qingfang's commotion, they didn't get to ask the questions they were supposed to ask at the coffin shop.

Fortunately, there were coffins and beds available for temporary rent in the charity cemetery, so they could use them for the night.

Then another question came up and began to weigh on A's mind.

There is no telling how many spies there are from Bei Tang inside and outside the city. If we inform the court, it will obviously be unrealistic to send out a large number of troops.

So who should protect the safety of these unarmed people during the days they hide in the charity cemetery?
At this moment, Zhou Saozi was holding her sleeping child, Zhao Zhuo found a cloth to wrap Ping Niang, and the room was as silent as death. Ah-yi was lost in her own thoughts, and was startled by the sudden knock on the door.

"Who is it? We're closed. Come back tomorrow." She tried to make her tone gentle, but her heart was beating like a drum.

"New Madam, it's me."

The handle of the knife was pressed against the door, and the silk tissue paper showed a little outline under the street light.

Ah's knees went weak and she almost lost all her strength.

It’s Yuncheng.

(End of this chapter)