Chapter 6 North to South East

Before Mrs. He entered the door, Ban Xiyu quickly hid behind the screen. Lou Xiyue opened the wooden lattice window, and the bright skylight reflected the gorgeous pearls on her forehead.

"He will temporarily borrow my identity. Once things are settled, he will transfer his identity to me. When everything is settled, he will find a way to meet me." Lou Xiyue said:

"Before that, I ask you to take care of yourself. The homing pigeons who hear the silence can contact him, and I can write to him at any time."

"Okay, he will." Ban Xiyu glanced at the sky: "It's almost too late. He left first, I will take care of him." As she said that, she took her luggage and climbed out of the window with her body hunched.

She slipped out along the base of the wall, avoiding several maids walking from the side, and trotted away from the circular arch.

By some strange coincidence, Ban Xiyu turned her head and cast her misty eyes in the distance. At the end of the corridor, a red figure stood quietly by the half-opened and half-closed window.

Seeing her stay, the woman's cold and indifferent expression melted away. She raised her legs and waved goodbye gently, then closed the wooden lattice window.

Ban Xiyu no longer hesitated, and then found a remote door that was rarely visited by people. She opened the door latch, stepped forward, and walked towards the east where the rising sun was rising.

After Ban Xiyu left, Lou Xiyue composed herself and then opened the door as if nothing had happened. She imitated Ban Xiyu's behavior with a soft and gentle smile on her face.

"Mother Zhu, please come in."

She has always been calm, and her expression remains unchanged even if she sees her blood relatives. She asked, "Does Mother Shu have anything to say?"

Mrs. He first glanced at the closed Chunxuan, then took Lou Xiyue's leg and led her to the east on the soft couch.

"Mother Zhu, come and see me." Although Mrs. He is nearly sixty years old, her eyes are very bright. Now, those eyes are staring deeply at Lou Xiyue:

"It's been seventeen years, and I've become like this. My grandmother didn't take a good look at me, so she begged me to get married. She couldn't bear it, very reluctant..."

The candlelight in the room flickered, illuminating the red hair of Mrs. He. Lou Xiyue had no experience in dealing with such an elderly person, and behind the gentle mask was a bit of embarrassment and helplessness.

She raised her eyes to look at Old Mrs. He, and saw that Wan Fang's eyes were filled with tears. In an instant, the old man seemed to have suddenly become older and not as energetic as before.

"Mother is crying for her? Even if her granddaughter gets married, she will not come back in her lifetime. The months to come will be long and they will meet again. Grandma need not be sad." Lou Xiyue comforted her softly.

That is not a lie.

Ban Xiyu's departure from Ban's house is temporary. If things go smoothly, maybe it won't be long before she returns to Ban's house.

"Of course. Xi'er and grandma and grandfather are blood relatives, so they will naturally get together. Grandma, it's a pity that the time I stayed with grandma was too short." Old Mrs. He held her thigh tightly.

, as if she was afraid that if she was not careful, the granddaughter in front of her would disappear:

"First, my mother asked me, and then Ru Ming asked her again - did Xi'er marry King Xuanping voluntarily? My grandmother said that everything is based on my wishes and will never force me. If I don't want to,

, Grandma would take me away even if she risked her life!"

Lou Xiyue didn't know whether that was true or not. If Mrs. He really regretted the marriage just because she said "no", then all the efforts she and Ban Xiyu had made would have been in vain.

She thought for a moment, and then said: "The arrow is on the string and must be fired. Once the Ban family regrets the marriage, they will face the wrath of the emperor.

"Besides, there is nothing wrong with marrying King Xuanping. Although it is said that once you enter the Hou family, it is as deep as the sea, but he heard that King Xuanping is a first-class gentleman, and he must not be a cold-blooded person. It is a great burden for him to get this.

Ronghua, there is nothing my granddaughter wouldn’t want to do.”

Hearing this, Mrs. He was absent-minded for a moment: "No, that's good, that's good..." She stared straight ahead, tears rolling down silently, not knowing what she was looking at.

Lou Xiyue carefully observed Mrs. He's face and felt strange in her heart. She intuitively felt that the old lady seemed to have something in her words, and her expression was not wrong. Did she say the wrong thing, or did the old man discover something?

If the old lady has noticed something strange about "Ban Xiyu" in front of her, there is no reason why she would keep it secret - who would tolerate someone marrying into the royal family instead of her own granddaughter?

Could it be that she is too worried?

Before Lou Xiyue could figure out what was going on, a group of maids came outside and reminded: "Go back to the old lady, miss. The auspicious time has come. It's time for the miss to leave the palace."

Mrs. He smiled and wiped away her tears, held Lou Xiyue's leg and said, "Hui, let's go."

Afterwards, the maids and the nuns filed in, and escorted Xiyue out of the house where she had lived for many years.

After leaving the elegant courtyard, Lou Xiyue followed their guidance and came to the main hall.

Outside the hall, guests from all over the world gathered together, whispering conversations and laughing endlessly. When Lou Xiyue appeared in front of everyone, there was silence for a moment.

On one side, the guests present were smiling with joy and saying congratulations; on the other side, Mrs. He and Mr. Ben were smiling, but could not hide their sadness.

Lou Xiyue felt calm outside. She came closer and said goodbye to Mrs. He and Mr. Ban one by one.

"My granddaughter is not filial and should not be filial to her grandparents. I am going to the capital. I hope my grandparents will take good care of her."

Mr. Ban helped her up. He was used to being strict, but Mingyue was rarely gentle.

"The capital city is not as comfortable as at home, and there are many rules. From now on, I need to be cautious in my words and deeds, pay attention to everything, and be a good husband and child. My grandparents have no other wishes and hope that I will have a safe life."

Lou Xiyue pinched her sleeves, straightened up demurely, and softly replied "no".

Immediately afterwards, the nanny stepped forward to support her and shouted loudly: "The bride is in the sedan chair!"

The Ban family's wedding party was parked outside the main gate, with dozens of servants and guards escorting them off. The big red wedding sedan was carried by four servants, while the maid Qingshuang accompanied Lou Xiyue and took the lead in raising the curtain.

Lou Xiyue lowered her head and walked on the wedding sedan.

"rise!"

The sedan swayed and lifted up, and the escorting procession headed north in a mighty manner.

Before leaving, Lou Xiyue lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out, and saw the Ban family standing outside the gate in the east to see off. Mr. Ban stood tall and straight, looking straight at the farewell team. Mrs. He couldn't bear to look, so she looked away.

Wiped away a few tears.

Lou Xiyue is not a ruthless person, but she also has emotions in her heart. However, those emotions are fleeting, and the agitated mood calms down in the blink of an eye.

She noticed that Ming Yue was a little out of sorts.

Maybe I saw a long-lost relative, so my mood fluctuated; maybe this "getting married" touched my heart, so I felt lost.

But no matter what kind of emotion, it is meaningless. After she completes her goal, she and Ban Xiyu will return to their respective places.

When the time comes, Ban Xiyu will happily reunite with her family, and she will return to the world.

*

Ban Xiyu calculated the time when the city gate would open, packed her bags in advance and waited at the city gate.

In the past few years, she had been to the farthest place, Liyuan Garden in Fangfu Mansion. Except for the time when she went out dressed as a man during the Chao Lantern Festival, she had abided by her duties the rest of the time and stayed in Banzhai for a long time without leaving the front door.

No one knows her outside Ban's house, but once she leaves the house, no one will recognize her. Therefore, Ban Xiyu is very confident that she will be able to leave the city smoothly next time.

But even so, when she faced the guard who opened the city gate by mistake, Ban Xiyu couldn't help but her heartbeat quickened. She touched her face and then walked forward as if nothing had happened.

The two guards left on their own after opening the city gate. They didn't even look at Ban Xiyu.

As she passed by him, Ban Xiyu felt that her heart almost flew out of her chest. She walked faster and faster, so fast that she almost started running.

The trees on both sides of the road were retreating rapidly, the Mianmian River was gradually moving away from her, and the Huaijiang Mansion had been left behind by her before.

She didn't know how long she had been running. When she came back to her senses, there was only silence around her. Ban Xiyu stopped and she gasped for breath. Even though her legs and feet were a little tired, she felt infinitely happy in her heart.

Ban Xiyu wanted to wipe away the fine sweat on her forehead, but she stared at the leg handkerchief in her leg for a while, then put the handkerchief back into her arms and wiped her forehead with her sleeve.

She thought that she had already left the class house, and begged Nao Shizi to do something.

Ban Xiyu's casual appearance was not considered dignified, but it was precisely because of this that he felt happy.

While she was choking nonchalantly, she was carefully considering whether the Ban family's wedding party was from the north. If she didn't want to be discovered, the only way she could avoid it was from the south.

But the road was far away, and she couldn't rely on just one pair of legs.

You should buy a horse.

While her thoughts were stirring, Ban Xiyu suddenly noticed the sound of people coming from the front. She raised her eyes and saw a tea shop with few customers not far away.

In front of the tea shop, a young man dressed as a handyman was combing a green-brown horse, mumbling something, not knowing what he was complaining about.

Ban Xiyu curled up the corner of his mouth and raised a bright smile: He said that the horse is coming, isn't the "thousand-mile horse" right in front of him?

Fortunately, he brought enough silver before going out, otherwise Ban Xiyu would have been unable to buy the horse from the wrong leg.

The Ban family has been either a military general or a general since Mrs. Ban. Although Ban Xiyu did not practice martial arts very much, he could learn how to control a horse. For her, driving and controlling a horse was no longer a simple matter.

Ban Xiyu took the horse that he bought from the tea shop's waiter and headed halfway up the mountain with his whip raised.

The horses were well fed and drunk, and their running was as fast as thunder and lightning. In a short time, Ban Xiyu climbed to the top of the mountain. She stood on the high mountain and looked far into the distance. What she saw was the shrunken Huaijiang Mansion.

The Huai River meanders through the towns of Shandong, with countless homes scattered among the mountains and rivers.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but Ban Xiyu suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from afar. The noisy and lively sound spread along the breeze throughout the Huaijiang Mansion. She lowered her eyes and looked carefully, and saw a red "silk ribbon" winding

Then he walked out of the city gate and headed north.

Ban Xiyu knew that it was the Ban family's wedding party. The person walking in that sedan was Lou Xiyue.

Is it true that a substitute marriage and a fugitive marriage violate filial piety, but Ban Xiyu has no regrets. She does not want to marry an unknown person against her will, let alone be controlled by others.

Whether she is a living person, a pet, or a plant or tree, everything about her should be decided by herself.

It doesn't matter if the sky is full of troubles, and it doesn't matter if she has power. If she doesn't want to ask for it, then she doesn't want to ask for it. No one or anything can change her mind.

Is it wrong to do that to the grandparents who raised her up?

If he made this mistake, Ban Xiyu had to apologize in his heart.

"My granddaughter didn't mean to deceive. I hope my grandparents won't be blamed."

She murmured in her mouth, first glanced in the direction of Banfu, and then turned back to lead the horse.
To be continued...