18. The Yu Family (1)
The Chai familyâs caravan marched in an orderly manner, and after half a month of trekking, they finally entered Yanzhou territory.
The Yu family had lived in Yanzhouâs Gaoping County for generations and is a famous family in Yanzhou. Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery outside the window, Yu Qingjia sighed silently. The Yu family of Yanzhou, she is back againâ¦
The Chai family caravan does not pass through Gaoping County, and now that the ancestral home is close at hand, Yu Qingjia can walk back the rest of the way herself. She made her intentions clear to the Chai familyâs owner, and after exchanging pleasantries, she put on the curtain hat and planned to hire another carriage to return to the city.
Yu Qingjia went to say goodbye to the Chai familyâs boss, and Murong Yan was standing by the roadside waiting for her. She didnât delay long, and politely refused the courtesy of the Chai familyâs boss to send them home, and came out of the caravan. As soon as she turned around, she saw Murong Yan standing quietly on one side, the cascading curtain hat waving gently in the wind, while he was slender and quiet, with an indescribable beauty.
Knowing that someone was waiting for her, Yu Qingjiaâs heart felt warm for some reason. She quickly ran to Murong Yan, raised her face and smiled, âLetâs go.â
Murong Yan nodded gently, and the two of them had just taken a few steps when they heard a call from behind, âMiss Yu, please wait.â
Yu Qingjia turned around in surprise and saw a sturdy young man hurrying to catch up with them, someone in the caravan was calling him, but he ignored it. Chai Wulang stopped in front of Yu Qingjia, she doesnât know if it was because of running, but his face was flushed red.
âYoung Master Chai?â Yu Qingjia was very surprised to see Chai Wulang. She secretly thought to herself that she should not have left anything in the caravan, so what did this young master of the Chai family doing chasing after her?
âMiss Yu, are you leaving now?â
âYes.â Yu Qingjia nodded her head and smiled through the curtain hat, âThank you to everyone for taking care of us along the way. My cousin and I will be returning home now. The two of us wished young master and the leader to have a safe journey.â
Chai Wulangâs face could not hide his disappointment, there were so many trivial matters along the way, and Yu Qingjia was always wearing a curtain hat, so he wasnât able to see her. It was hard to muster up the courage to look for her, but her difficult cousin kept turning him away, so carefully speaking, ever since their departure from Xisong Town, he had not spoken to her much at all.
Now that Miss Yu is going home, he doesnât know if heâll ever see her again once they leave. He couldnât express his reluctance in his heart. So he took a deep breath and gathered enough courage to ask, âThank you for your kind words, Miss Yu. Miss Yu, where does your family live?â
Yu Qingjia said goodbye to Chai Wulang with a smile, and was startled for a moment when she heard his words, âWhy is Young Master Chai asking this?â
âNothing much.â Chai Wulangâs just accumulated courage seemed to be punctured suddenly, he immediately stammered, drifted his eyes, and his dark face slowly turned red, âItâs nothing much, Itâs just that I want to know more about Miss Yuâ¦â
Murong Yan had been watching from the side ever since Chai Wulang caught up with them. Hearing this, he snorted coldly in his heart, turned around and left without saying a word.
âHey, Jing Huan!â Yu Qingjia did not expect Murong Yan to suddenly turn around and leave. She looked back anxiously, and for a moment, not caring about Chai Wulangâs unfinished words, she hurriedly said, âI have to go after my cousin, so please excuse me.â
Chai Wulang couldnât help but call out, his hand also reached forward uncontrollably, as if he wanted to grab the sweetheart in front of him, but his palm fell short, and only touched the white gauze flowing in the wind.
Chai Wulang stared blankly at Yu Qingjia who turned around without hesitation, and quickly caught up with Murong Yan. She seemed to have complained to him about his behavior, and the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, and walked away arguing like that.
âI wanted to ask you, where you live in Gaoping County, and whether you are marriedâ¦â
Yu Qingjia caught up with Murong Yan, and she held down the brim of her restless hat. Although her tone was that of a complaint, it was natural and intimate, âOthers are still saying goodbye to us. How could you just leave without listening to the other party!â
Murong Yan was different from Yu Qingjia, as soon as the son of the Chai family started, he could immediately guess what he wanted to say next. Murong Yan was never the type to hold back his temper, he was displeased, so of course he would turn around and leave, but Yu Qingjia immediately left the other party to chase after him, which made him feel a bit better.
âItâs none of my business whether he wants to say goodbye or not.â Murong Yan glanced at Yu Qingjia lightly, and said, âDidnât you just say to not leave when someone was saying goodbye, and donât be too rude? Then why did you leave and not listen to what he wanted to say just now?â
âYou think, it has nothing to do with you?â Yu Qingjia said angrily, âYou turned around and left without saying anything, how can I just stay there and let you leave?â
Murong Yanâs expression remained unchanged, but the chill at the tip of his brow gradually melted away. For her, Murong Yan is more important after all. So if the two sides had to be considered carefully, Yu Qingjia will definitely choose him rather than the other, this knowledge made Murong Yanâs heart feel much more at ease.
The closer they got to Gaoping City, the busier the traffic was, Yu Qingjia and Murong Yan found a carriage on the side of the road and gave the coachman a few copper coins and told him to go to Jianâan Lane. As soon as the coachman heard the Jianâan Lane, he knew that the two people in front of him were not simple, he did not dare to think further, and after the two sat down, his mouth immediately whistled and steered the horse towards the city gate.
It rained last night, and the autumn rain became cooler than the last. After a night of tossing and turning, many fallen leaves peeled off from the branches, mixed with cold water, and submerged in the green stone slabs. Low-lying places even accumulated some rainwater, which reflected the gray sky above. A drop of water slipped from the black and brown branches, and suddenly caused a lot of ripples. In the trembling of the water waves, a white skirt gently covered half of the water surface, and a misty white gauze is slowly reflected in the other half of it.