Cai Lihua had no mind to buy rice anymore. She grabbed A Jiu and rushed out.
"A Jiu, we have to run too. If they break in, this city isn't like the countryside. The small paths and mountain trails are all escape routes. But this square city, though it looks large, only has four gates. If we get trapped in here, we won't be able to escape even if we want to."
A Jiu was dragged along at a run, but her mind was filled with how the poisoned meat had entered the city, and who the spy was. Could it be her elder brother? He wouldn't do anything so heinous.
And then there was King Nanming, who had rewarded her yesterday, and now she heard he had only sent one army to meet the enemy and had fled himself.
She looked at the people around her, still guarding their shops, and women chasing children through the streets.
"You brat, watch out for the carriage! Run around again and I'll whip your backside."
Calls of hawkers and scolding children filled the air, not at all like a city on the brink of invasion.
"A Jiu, quickly pack your things and tell your sister-in-law, I'm going to the private school to find your father."
Cai Lihua didn't stop, not even daring to enter the Hualán Medical Hall as she passed. She turned and rushed towards Purple Vine Garden.
A Jiu felt the news had come too quickly and she hadn't fully processed it.
Her gaze fell on Old Liu opposite. He always sat by the door weaving bamboo baskets. The half-finished basket lay on the ground, but the man himself was gone.
"A Jiu, what's wrong?"
Liu Cai'er had just finished treating a patient. She rolled up her sleeves and added, "Your elder brother is already settled and sleeping in my room. I'll prepare a separate room for you to stay in tonight."
The bloodshot in her eyes was still there.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." A Jiu entered the medical hall carrying ten catties of salt. "Sister-in-law, I heard the Qiming Mountain area has fallen and they'll be in the city soon."
"Oh, I heard that too." Liu Cai'er appeared remarkably calm. She easily got information from the yamen runners who came for treatment today.
This stunned A Jiu. "Don't we need to leave the city overnight?" A Jiu actually thought her mother's words made sense.
"What's there to be afraid of? Everyone dies eventually. We'll leave when it's time to leave." Kuai Shu Ge
Seeing her sister-in-law's demeanor, A Jiu felt something was amiss. "But we shouldn't die carelessly! We have to fight to live!"
"Your elder brother is like this. Even if he were to leave Nanming City, it would be full of suffering. There are many medicinal herbs here, which will allow me to test various prescriptions. I was just suddenly reminded of when we first met, and then I wasn't so afraid of death."
Liu Cai'er tidied bottles and jars, quickly pulled out a medical book, and began to flip through it intently.
A Jiu blinked. Her sister-in-law's feelings for her elder brother were deeper than she had imagined, to the point where she could disregard life and death. "Sister-in-law, what does it feel like to love someone? Is it to disregard one's own life?"
"You're too young to understand. Actually, if you find someone you truly love, and you know that life inevitably ends in death, then you naturally fulfill your original intention."
Liu Cai'er even managed to smile.
Original intention?
A Jiu silently returned to her room. She remembered the first time she met Tuoba Yan and thought he was so amusing.
So clumsy, so foolish, so unaware of anything. He could be scared unconscious by a watermelon. Thinking of this, A Jiu chuckled.
The sound of hooves outside continued incessantly. A Jiu went out and looked from the back door.
Squadrons of infantry began to move towards the city gates in an orderly fashion.
A Jiu couldn't sleep soundly. She could even hear the soldiers at the north city gate pushing open the heavy city gates, followed by the roar of cannons.
The smell of burning oil filled the air above Nanming City.
The sounds of slaughter seemed real. A Jiu suddenly sat up and realized the whole world had fallen silent.
Her mouth dry, she took a drink of spiritual spring water. The bright moonlight shone down on the courtyard. Wang Shi was sitting cross-legged on the rooftop.
A Jiu climbed over the courtyard wall to her grandmother's side. Before she could even sit down, she was terrified.
Standing on the rooftop, she could see the fireworks outside the city and the mountain fires dozens of miles away reaching straight into the sky. So it hadn't been a dream.
"My heavens," she gasped. "Grandma, let's pack our things, we need to run." A Jiu left the words hanging and didn't bother to see if Grandma heard her. She immediately got off the rooftop and hurried to pack.
Her mother had gone to Purple Vine Garden that morning, saying she would call A Jiu's father back and then they would flee. But she hadn't returned yet.
Now, packing early was the priority.
As for her sister-in-law, A Jiu quickly woke her up. "Sister-in-law, at worst, we can take elder brother and the herbs with us. We still have the carriage, right?"
Just as the door was flung open from the inside by Liu Cai'er.
A Jiu's mouth was suddenly covered, and she was lifted up uncontrollably.
"A Jiu!" Liu Cai'er's pupils contracted, but she grabbed at empty air.
A Jiu could even smell the strong scent of blood on the hand covering her mouth.