Chapter 957 - 957 957 Brushing Past Each Other
Chapter 957: Chapter 957: Brushing Past Each Other… Chapter 957: Chapter 957: Brushing Past Each Other… “What kind of married woman? How old is she?”
That woman instinctively thought of Liu Sisi from next door, but then shook her head out of reflex. With just one look at the several people in front of her who were clearly officials, adorned in their finery, perched atop their horses, the sheer chasm of status between them was apparent.
Da Niu looked back at Di Yelei, who was guarded in the middle by several trusted soldiers, before speaking to the woman again, “We’re looking for an exceptionally beautiful married woman, probably just over twenty years old, with a voice as pleasant as the oriole’s singing…”
“No, there’s absolutely no such person here! This is a slum, after all. If there were any beautiful women, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to stay here, wouldn’t they have run off long ago?” The woman cut off Da Niu’s words, her tone tinged with resentment.
How could someone like her, dragging kids around, possibly remain beautiful?
If she were really beautiful, she wouldn’t be staying here in the first place.
Di Yelei moved his horse forward a couple of steps, took out a silver ingot from his arms, and carelessly tossed it in front of the woman, “Big sister, yesterday when we passed by from outside, it seemed like we heard an elder woman calling out for a meal…”
Upon seeing the silver ingot, the woman’s eyes sparkled with greed, and she immediately snatched it up and hid it away in her bosom hastily.
“Oh! Are you talking about yesterday when it was almost dark, and Granny Peng next door was calling her niece? That woman is even older than I am, and not only is she unspeakably ugly, her voice is more like a broken gong, terribly grating. Nothing like the pleasant voice of an oriole you mentioned.”
“Older than you and with a voice like a broken gong?” Having learned the truth, Di Yelei was not yet willing to give up and inquired again.
“Indeed not. There are only these few households living here, and everyone knows everyone else. If you don’t trust what I say, you’re more than welcome to ask a few more families and you’ll understand,” the woman said earnestly, influenced by the value of the silver ingot.
“So that’s how it is. Thank you for your help, big sister.”
With a fist greeting, Di Yelei then walked out of the narrow alley, looking somewhat dispirited.
After walking a short distance, Da Niu hurriedly caught up, “Old Master Marquis, I too went and asked the residents beside, and they all said that an elder woman indeed lives there. Recently, that elder woman’s niece came to live with her. That niece is not only ugly but also relies on Granny Peng to work hard at the wharf to make a living. After returning from work, she still has to cook for herself, while this niece just sits back and has everything handed to her.”
It seems it really must be Sisi!
If that niece truly is Sisi, and just thinking about Sisi’s cooking skills, there’s no way she would sit around doing nothing.
At this moment, Di Yelei couldn’t possibly imagine that Liu Sisi was covered in poison sores and simply unable to cook.
“Let’s go! It’s getting late, and if we leave the city any later, we may not be able to return to Wanzhou City by tomorrow.”
Di Yelei kicked his horse’s sides, leading everyone as they galloped out of the city toward the small town nearby.
Continuing along the same road they came by, Di Yelei was at the front of the pack, galloping on his horse, taking a detour at the three-way intersection straight toward the north gate.
At the moment, Liu Sisi had just finished eating the serving of dumplings in a hidden corner. This was her second time eating at the dumpling shop, and rather than saying she came to eat dumplings, it felt more like she came to taste something familiar. The more she thought of Liu Zhi’er, the harder it was to swallow.
Finally, after finishing a bowl, she silently put down four copper coins and left the shop, continuing along the narrow alley.
She couldn’t help but wonder how her Second Sister was doing now.
She heard the sound of rapid horse hooves from behind and quickly chose a somewhat spacious spot to stand still against the wall.
If a horse’s hoof had struck her, or if the lash of a whip had hit her, she would have found no one to cry to.
Di Yelei, preoccupied, vigorously wielded the horse whip in his hand, striking the horse’s rump forcefully, causing the animal to bolt in pain. Even though he had seen from a distance a woman standing by the wall ahead, he did not slow down. Instead, he passed Liu Sisi by like a gust of wind.
Liu Sisi had not been paying attention to the person on horseback, but the mud splattered on her by the passing horse instinctively made her look up!
Even through the thick veil hat, in that brief moment of surprise, she recognized the familiar figure and immediately gasped.
It was actually Di Yelei! What was he doing here?
Before she could process her shock, following in Di Yelei’s wake, several other horses carrying riders galloped past her.
This time she clearly saw Da Niu on horseback, and was certain of the identity of the figure in front.
It was indeed Di Yelei and his party. She had never expected to encounter them in a foreign land after being separated by a thousand miles, a truly unexpected reunion!
Quickly following Di Yelei, Da Niu also noticed the figure standing at the roadside.
With a wary gaze, he scanned the slender figure of Liu Sisi, and upon realizing that she posed no threat to his master, his eyes swiftly moved on. Riding their horses, the party soon vanished from the end of Liu Sisi’s sight.
The wind blew, carrying away Liu Sisi’s oil-paper umbrella. The drizzle, mingled with light snow, began to fall slowly, gradually soaking her face towel, but she paid it no heed.
All of a sudden, she came to her senses and ran wildly after Di Yelei and his party, towards the place where they had disappeared.
But a misstep made her slip and she fell hard to the ground, her manuscript tumbling into a mud puddle. She couldn’t care less, hastily tossing aside the manuscript in her hand and continuing her frantic chase.
Finally reaching the crossroads, Liu Sisi looked around breathlessly. There were plenty of passersby around, but where were those horse-mounted figures?
An overwhelming sense of loss nearly broke her. She couldn’t hold on any longer and slowly squatted down, covering her mouth to stifle a bout of painful sobs.
She had always thought that after leaving, she would no longer think of him, but only upon seeing him today did she realize that her yearning for him had seeped deep into her marrow. It always surfaced when she least expected it, too fast for her to prepare.
Ye Lei! Ye Lei, Ye Lei…
Large tears began to fall, and she could no longer hold back, burying her head in her arms and crying aloud.
Ye Lei, I miss you so much, have you ever thought of me?
She had no idea how much time had passed when the sounds from around gradually entered her ears, and she began to hear various voices.
“What happened to her? She hasn’t been abandoned, has she? That’s so pitiful to see.”
“That must be it. Look at her, covered in mud as if she just rolled out of it. Something bad must have happened, right?”
“Looks like it. People just have to endure misfortunes until old age. It’s best to just let go…”
Liu Sisi quietly lifted her head and realized she was surrounded by onlookers. Everyone was pointing and gossiping about her, apparently treating her situation as entertainment.