Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 93 Traveling in the Dark is Always Difficult; Gazing at the Stars, But Moving Forward

The stars were shining and the sky was dark; one could not go far by relying solely on the scattered candlelight of others.

"Miss, shall we find an inn to rest for the rest of the day?"

Having just left the Liu residence, the two dared not hire carriages and horses openly. Instead, they set off under the cover of night to head out of the city, intending to borrow a donkey from a farmer that was used for grinding grain as their first journey to the capital.

"No, keep going." Gritting her teeth, Liu Jiao'an spoke without the slightest hesitation, "Go, let's go first..."

Sure enough, the real Liu Jiao'an was hidden behind every look in her father's eyes. She no longer had time to feel heartbroken; all she could do was numbly walk forward, and forward still.

"Miss, why don't we go find Miss Guan? She'll surely find a way to take us in."

Qingmiao had done a lot of hard labor and had become accustomed to the fatigue.

But in Qingmiao's eyes—Miss is different.

It wasn't because Liu Jiao'an was spoiled and pampered, someone who never lifted a finger and always needed to be waited on.

Having just experienced a tremendous emotional upheaval, with only her family members completely revealing their despicable nature to Liu Jiao'an, she suddenly felt as helpless and adrift as a piece of duckweed. Anyone would find it hard to bear such a situation.

Qingmiao saw everything about Liu Jiao'an, from her silence and numbness to her desperate, reckless drive. She knew that Liu Jiao'an was only holding on by sheer willpower; if this matter were to end, Liu Jiao'an would inevitably fall seriously ill.

“Miss, let’s rest for a while. At least when we get to Miss Guan’s place, we can discuss things together.”

"We can't go to her." Going to Guan Yin at this time would only increase the chances of her father finding her, causing trouble for both of them. Liu Jiao'an decisively rejected Qingmiao's idea.

“We cannot go to her, and we certainly cannot go to the brothel to find Ling Xiao. These are the two places Father would most likely guess.”

It must be said that Liu Jiaoan is very smart.

The people left at the entrance of the private school had not yet returned, and for Liu Jiao'an to go there at this time would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

The moment Liu Qingxian discovered his daughter was missing, he would definitely send people to search along the route from the courtyard to the music hall.

In Liu's father's eyes, the departure of the two women inevitably led to suspicions about their identities—were they servants who had escaped from a large family, or wives and concubines of some noble household?

Of course, there are quite a few people who think this way. It is always inconvenient for a girl to travel alone. Some are well-educated and reasonable, and they believe in the principle of "not touching people." Others are driven by selfishness. It would be like lambs to the slaughter for two people. Therefore, Liu Jiao'an and Qingmiao are not willing to seek lodging easily.

"Alright, then I'll go with you, Miss."

Qingmiao is not afraid.

Because Qingmiao had nothing left to worry about losing, she had nothing to fear. Besides her life, all Qingmiao had was her mistress who truly cared for her—the less she possessed, the more courage she had to forge ahead.

Touching the paper tucked inside her clothes, Liu Jiao'an felt the temperature of her own body through it.

She had examined the handwriting on the paper; every stroke and line was uneven. Each stroke had many jagged, redundant lines, indicating that the writer did not write often.

Sanheng didn't lie this time; he copied it down stroke by stroke himself.

Such evidence is hardly credible, but Liu Jiao'an still has to take it to the capital—there are people involved, and these are clues that Cheng Heng can use.

"hiss……"

The sharp pebbles on the ground poked Liu Jiao'an's feet through her embroidered shoes. Feeling the pain, Liu Jiao'an finally showed some of the expressions a living person should have.

He frowned and slowed his pace slightly.

"Are you alright, Miss? Why don't we find a place to rest for a while?"

Fortunately, it wasn't pitch black yet. Qingmiao tried to find a place to take shelter under the dim moonlight, but found a graveyard not far away.

“Miss, let’s walk around some more. We don’t know whose grave this is, so it’s really not suitable to stay here for long.”

The little girl's voice trembled slightly. In the darkness, even without having done anything wrong, the eerie environment can instill fear of the unknown.

Just like before Liu Jiaoan resolutely left, Qingmiao also experienced a brief period of fear, similar to what she feels now.

Once she had truly left the Liu residence and was on the road, Qingmiao was no longer afraid. Even the greatest unknown was nothing more than "at worst, death!"
"Let's go."

If she remembered correctly, this area should be the Liu family's ancestral cemetery. When her mother was buried here, the still-naive Liu Jiao'an could only watch from afar—she wondered if the people guarding the cemetery had abandoned their posts at this time.

Pulling herself back to her senses, Liu Jiao'an's eyes were dimmer than the starlight hidden beneath the gray clouds.

The green mountains were shrouded in darkness, and the distant moon was a sliver of something that had been gnawed away by the mountains, jagged and uneven.

"The mountain holds the bright moon..." At that time, her mother pointed to the words in the book and read them to her. So Liu Jiao'an longed for the mountain scenery and the bright moon, but she did not expect that when she actually saw it, it would be so desolate.

"Let's go, let's be careful."

If the road is difficult, then be careful; you can't stop walking.

Liu Jiao'an was rushing to the capital, and Cheng Heng was also hurrying to Huizhou Prefecture. However, at this moment, Liu's father, Liu Qingxian, had already shifted his focus from his own daughter to the latter.

Sanheng left, Liu Jiaoan fled, and Liu Qingxian's decision to embark on this path sealed his fate of being abandoned by everyone.

As the moon grew thinner and the sky began to lighten, Liu's father strolled to his daughter's chamber, intending to use the little affection he had left as a pretext to persuade Liu Jiao'an to change her mind and reveal everyone's plan.

Liu Qingxian was unaware that there was no elaborate plan involved. None of the three men had been in officialdom for decades like him. They relied solely on their determination to "do it whether it works or not" to overcome Liu Qingxian's flawed scheme.

No matter how meticulously planned, if it's not a legitimate act, there will always be someone who will betray you for greater benefits.

"Sanheng?"

"Sanheng, tell your young lady to come down."

There was no response from inside the house, and a bad feeling immediately formed in Liu's father's mind. He frowned and pushed open the door, only to see that the house was truly empty.

One night was enough time for Sanheng to pack his things and leave the Liu residence with his parents.

Liu Qingxian's subordinates were not particularly capable; they relied on either profit or power. The gatekeepers were inclined to turn a blind eye, and Sanheng only needed to come up with a plausible excuse—such as purchasing festive necessities for the mansion—to easily slip away from Liu's residence with people disguised as maids and servants.

When Liu Qing asked the gatekeeper, the answer he received was an excuse that couldn't be simpler.

"I think, it's Dragon Boat Festival here, and since these are elders of the household..."

Liu Qingxian's anger had nowhere to go; he wanted to drag the useless and troublesome "thing" in front of him away and beat him, but when he opened his mouth, he found he could barely speak. Fear? Having come this far, what fear could Liu Qingxian possibly have?

Not afraid? Liu Qingxian is also a person, and all people are afraid of death, especially selfish people. For selfish reasons—such a large Liu mansion, with so much gold and silver treasures still hidden, and Liu's father doesn't dare to use them openly… how could he bear to die at this time?
Pretending to be nonchalant, Liu Qingxian chased the person out, letting out a sigh of relief. He slumped against his desk, looking up at the shelf where the letter had been placed. A mix of regret and annoyance welled up inside him.

"Ha, I've been fooled by a few greenhorns!"

"Jiao An'er, you really have a cruel heart." A venomous glint flashed in Liu Qingxian's eyes. "If I had known, I should have strangled you back then and adopted a boy from a collateral branch."

He had originally hoped that Liu Jiao'an could marry into a good family and elevate the Liu family's status. However, when his wife was sweating profusely, he was momentarily moved by what now seemed like a fleeting and uncertain love, and thus kept the baby girl from that time, who is now Jiao'an.

Liu Qingxian regretted it.

What skills do daughters have to enter officialdom? In our village, the tradition is to pass down both farming and scholarship. If a daughter can't do either of those things well, she's essentially a useless member of the family!
If I had known, I should have strangled Jiao An'er in her swaddling clothes.

Although he was thinking of his daughter's nickname, what Liu's father was thinking was that he should have killed Liu Jiao'an long ago to prevent future troubles.

It's no wonder that as he rose through the ranks, he easily changed his mind. The seeds of evil had long been deeply ingrained...

Even though he knew he had no chance to turn things around, Liu Qingxian refused to admit defeat, so "Cheng Jianwei" became his only chance to turn things around.

Liu Qingxian stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked up at the half-open study door—it had started raining outside, the pitter-patter of raindrops striking at one's heart with a restless rhythm.

The sounds were dense and chaotic. Liu Qingxian wanted to escape the noise, so he closed the study door.

The candles from last night had long since gone out, and the gloom of the rainy day and the tightly closed study door made the room even darker.

But the sound of rain that Liu Qingxian wanted to avoid continued to patter and echo in his ears.

The door opened and closed, and the rain outside gradually stopped. The gloomy atmosphere in the sky fell onto Liu Qingxian's face.

The sky brightened completely, and the sunlight pierced through the gray clouds of last night, making them thinner and thinner until only a thin layer of mist remained hanging in the blue sky...

The shadows in the room were just darker.

“Cheng Jianwei, the third-ranked scholar…Cheng the great third-ranked scholar, you should know the principle that even a centipede with a hundred legs does not fall down when it dies. Moreover, my Liu family has not yet been dealt with.”

Cheng Heng, of course, couldn't hear Liu Qingxian's words. He was still riding his horse on the official road. Seeing that he was getting close to the territory of Huizhou Prefecture, he decided to get off and walk around to relieve his body, which was almost falling apart from being shaken.

With not a cloud in the sky and the green mountains inviting him on, Cheng Heng's fatigue from the journey was largely swept away. He was in the mood to look up at the sky, the earth, the green mountains, and the faintly visible pines, trees, and grasses...

Then, they continued on their journey.

By midday, Cheng Heng was hungry and had to stop again to find something to eat.

"Miss, let's buy some food too."

The official road was still safe during the day, with enough people coming and going to ensure the safety of the two of them. Liu Jiao'an and Qingmiao hadn't slept all night, but they were still energetic at this point.

"Alright."

When the familiar voice reached his ears, Cheng Heng was still somewhat incredulous. He looked up and around, and saw a pair of figures leaning against each other, one of whom looked like Liu Jiao'an.

"The horse has been fed as requested, sir. Is there anything else you require?"

Cheng Heng is not so short of money now, and he is still generous. He gave a reward earlier, and now that the shopkeeper has come, he is somewhat eager to take credit and wants to ask Cheng Heng for some more reward money.

These people run successful businesses along the official road, making quite a bit of money. Cheng Heng actually dislikes this kind of glib talker, but he's always been someone who's easily embarrassed…

The more uninhibited she is on stage, the less adept she is at saying no off stage—otherwise, she wouldn't have held out until the day of the performance, before the immersive drama's organizers completely exposed their blunders, all because of the simple phrase "classmate."

"I don't need anything else. You can take the money. If anything happens later..."

Seeing that the two people were about to walk away, Cheng Heng became a little impatient. He stood up abruptly, put down the silver, and hurriedly tried to call out to Liu Jiao'an.

Unexpectedly, when he looked up, he met a pair of eyes full of malice. Cheng Heng avoided the person and walked to Liu Jiao'an's side, standing opposite Qing Miao: "I have been sitting over there watching the two young ladies for a long time. It seems that you have walked for a long time. I happen to be not far from where I am going. I wonder if the two young ladies would like me to give them a ride?"

When Cheng Heng stood in front of her, Liu Jiao'an recognized him without much effort.

"you……"

"Shh, there's someone over there. I don't know if they came with you or if they're after me."

"Miss, this one..."

Listening to their conversation, Qingmiao basically guessed Cheng Heng's identity. As soon as she spoke, Liu Jiao'an confirmed her idea: "This is the one you know, the third-ranked scholar of this year's imperial examination."

"I don't deserve it." After dealing with wave after wave of people coming to congratulate him, Cheng Heng's mouth had almost become muscle memory, just like a Chinese student's English.

The answer to "How are you?" will definitely be "I'm fine, thank you, and you?"

When someone calls him "the third-ranked scholar," Cheng Heng's reaction is always "I dare not accept such an honor."

"What are you going to do?" After sitting down, Cheng Heng asked the shopkeeper to serve tea and dishes, and let the two girls sit on the bench opposite him to rest.

"Go to the capital."

What are you going to the capital for?

Sensing Liu Jiao'an's silence, Cheng Heng seemed to understand something: "Looking for me?"

It's not surprising that Cheng Heng was slow to react. One eye was keeping a watchful eye on the suspicious person, and he noticed something glittering in the latter's arms, but Cheng Heng dared not alert him...

"what!"

"Miss, Mr. Cheng..." Qingmiao, who was closest to the thief, reacted first and immediately tackled Liu Jiaoan to the ground, shielding Cheng Heng.

"Ah! Someone has committed murder!"

"Grab him! Grab him... Arrest him now!"

"Hurry up and save people!"

The small roadside shop was in complete chaos. With such a big commotion, the shopkeeper had no interest in asking for any more tips.