Perfect Encounter - Chapter 18.2
PROOFREAD BY AFREANA
Chapter 18.2
The doctor came and, having examined An Ruochen’s injuries, prescribed some medicine. That night An Ruochen had a fever but got over it. The next day, An Zhifu came to her room to see whether she was dead and saw she was okay, not as bad as he thought. He asked her how she wanted to escape. An Ruochen cried, saying she was confused and had a momentary brain fever. She never thought about actually escaping and just talked about it. An Zhifu could not ask anything but felt she did not have the ability to plan the escape, reprimanded her, and then left. When he left, he ordered people to seal her room, lock the door and nail the windows. Except for food and medicine, no one was allowed to come in.
An Ruochen closed her eyes and listened to An Zhifu’s rant. Everything was as she expected.
An Ruochen counted the days in her heart. Another day passed. October 13th, two days before the 15th.
This night, An Ruofang came running. She planned to sneak into the room, but could not enter, so she called in a whisper under the window. An Ruochen gritted her teeth and endured the pain, dragging her body to the window.
“Sister, sister, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Have you been beaten?”
“No.”
An Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she hadn’t. She was also able to come to see her, which meant she hadn’t been locked up.
“Sister, is there anyone in your room?” An Ruofang asked cautiously.
“No.”
An Ruofang said carefully again: “I came secretly and checked. No one is here. Sister, listen to me. I dug a hole in the corner of the small yard. Previously, Xiao Huang dug it. It left from there and did not come back. I looked for it and found the hole. If we want to escape, there must be a place to escape through, so I secretly dug it bigger.”
An Ruochen closed her eyes, touched. This sister not only wanted to give her money but also secretly helped her dig a hole.
“Sister, you don’t have to be afraid. The day before yesterday was my bad. I was too scared and got you beaten. I was wrong to do so. I have thought about it carefully. I will listen to you, you said not to be afraid, and I will not be afraid. I went to inspect the hole again today. It seems too small, only enough for me to enter. I have to dig a little more. Sister, you recuperate at ease. When I finish digging the hole, I will take you away.” An Ruofang said, her voice choked, “Mother spoke to me last night. The marriage is a nail in the coffin and cannot be changed. I saw that when father beat you like that, the old Qian looked happy. If we enter his door in the future, what shall we do?”
“Fang’er.” An Ruochen endured the pain in her body, took a breath, and said to her, “They will be watching closely in these two days. You must not go around digging holes. If they see you, it will be bad.”
“I know.”
“Tomorrow night, you come to me, be careful not to let others find out. Come by yourself.”
“Okay.” An Ruofang did not know what it meant, but she listened to what her sister had told her.
“If you don’t have a chance tomorrow night, you can come the morning after tomorrow. Remember, the day after tomorrow before noon, make sure to find an opportunity to come to see me.”
“Yes.”
The day after tomorrow was October 15th.
The next day, An Ruochen was obediently recuperating, taking her medicine and eating her meals.
Mrs. Tan and Mrs. Xue came to see her in the morning and didn’t say anything. Mrs. Tan saw she was in good spirits and was relieved. She was the most concerned among several wives about the marriage with the Qian family. First, Fu An County was where her mother’s family was from, and there is a layer of her relationship. Second, her son, An Ronggui, has a share in the jade business. In the future, if An Zhifu achieves something, the business would be in the hands of their second house.
But An Ruochen wanted to escape, she hated it in her heart.
She was afraid of offending Qian Pei and asked her mother’s family to inquire about Qian Pei’s intentions and to send a gift. The result was that Qian Pei turned out not to be annoyed. On the contrary, he seemed rather happy. He said he disliked the big girl before as dull, cowardly, and boring, but now he realized the big girl has some toughness in her. He likes this kind of girls, so he did not get angry. Mrs. Tan went to speak with An Zhifu about it, easing his mind.
The other concubine, Mrs. Xue, was the most cautious one in the An House. She was originally a concubine of another merchant in Zhonglan City, and the merchant gave her to An Zhifu. She was still only a concubine. Mrs. Xue gave birth to a daughter, named Ruolan, fifteen years old.
Mrs. Xue had nothing to rely on. Her origin was nothing to speak of. She always acted carefully, like the grass on the wall. She followed the second wife to visit An Ruochen and see the situation. Make a calculation in mind.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Liao of the fifth house came to see An Ruochen. The reason An Ruochen incurred a beating was due to her son complaining. The first thing she thought was her son had done a good job and saved the An House from disaster. The second thing was that the future was long, and it was uncertain whether An Rochen would become powerful after she marries the Qian House. She was afraid An Ruochen would hold a grudge and retaliate in the future. She came to be a good person and send some tonic, saying Rongkun was young and did not know the master would be this cruel and that An Ruochen was the eldest sister and must understand the disaster of running away from home, and finally that she believed An Ruochen was only talking, coaxing her sister’s anxious heart. In short, the conversation went on for a while and then died down.
These people came and went, and the door of the room was locked again.
An Ruochen’s injuries still hurt like yesterday, but her heart became much calmer. She slept for a while during the day, thinking that she must stay awake during the night and not miss her fourth sister.
After waiting all night, An Ruofang did not come. An Ruochen couldn’t stay awake. She woke up after sleeping for a while, and when she opened her eyes again, she found that it was already dawn. She was anxious, wondering if her fourth sister was in trouble or whether she couldn’t find a chance to come to her. If she missed the time, it would be bad.
At this moment,An Ruofang suddenly called out in a small voice from the window, “Sister, big sister.”
An Ruochen’s spirits lifted and she struggled to crawl under the window: “Fang’er, sister is here.”
“Sister, I’m coming.” An Ruofang cautiously looked around. At this time, everyone was asleep, and the maids and servants who were up, were busy. No one paid attention to the back window of the secluded courtyard.
“Fang’er, do you still want to go?”
An Ruofang nodded, then remembering her sister could not see her, she said, “Yes, I do. Sister, let’s escape. How am I going to get you out?”
An Ruochen closed her eyes. She couldn’t be saved, she didn’t have a chance. “Fang’er, listen carefully to this sister. Be sure to listen carefully.”
“Okay.”
“This afternoon, there will be a grain convoy at the south city gate at the time of Shen. The man in charge is surnamed Jiang, named Jiang Zhong. You can call him Master Jiang. He will go to Shao City, Bin County, where he has a family. He has the order of General Long, willing to escort us to settle our future days. He will help you arrange the paperwork and the work for you to make a living.”
An Ruofang was surprised: “That’s great.” Although she did not understand why General Long would help them, having someone to look after them was naturally great.
“Fang’er, you are good at needlework and make delicious snacks. I do not know if these two skills will come in handy, but you should know that although you are a woman, you are not useless. You can earn some money to support yourself. You are still young and need someone to take care of you. General Long has instructed Master Jiang. Trust him, Master Jiang will take good care of you. You have to suffer some hardship and learn more skills when you go to someone else’s home. In the future, whether you live well or not, it all depends on you. This truth you must understand.”
“I understand.” Being away from home is naturally not as good as home. She understands this. If she couldn’t even understand this, how could she dare to say she wanted to run away from home? In her opinion, suffering outside is better than letting that old Qian abuse her.
“Sister, how do I get you out? There’s not much time left.”
An Ruochen took a deep breath, holding back the pain in her body, and said calmly, “Fang’er, do you know, from our house out to the south city gate, how to go hidden and safe, so as to not be easily caught back?”
“Uh ……” An Ruofang did not know. She always follows others, she knows the way, but she has never thought about safety and concealment.
An Ruochen told her in detail and asked if she knew the roads she mentioned. An Ruofang knew all of them. She often went with her mother and sister to play in the marketplace near the South City Gate, and often went out of the South City Gate to burn incense at the mountain temple outside the city. She knew the South City Gate.
An Ruochen explained to her what to say if she was found, what to say when she saw Master Jiang, how to make connections, how to avoid bad guys on the road, etc. As she talked, she suddenly got scared. Her sister is too young to go out like this. What if there is an accident?
She hesitated, but then she remembered Qian Pei, remembered An Ruofang vomited from fear after he touched her leg. She fixed her mind, gritted her teeth, and took out the money she had saved from the small bag hidden behind the table, poked the window paper, and stuffed the things out to An Ruofang.
“This money is not much. Keep it.”
It sounded very familiar. An Ruofang wanted to cry again. The private money she prepared for her sister was not accepted, but now her sister wants her to use her money instead. The meaning of these words, is it that she won’t go with her? “Sister, what about you?”
An Ruochen laughed, “I can’t leave. Good sister, I am locked up, and if you want to save me, you will only invite the danger of being discovered. There’s not much time left, it’s too late. I am injured and cannot walk fast, which will only slow us down. The maids will come to deliver medicine and soon find out that I am not here, then they will guess we are running away and we will be caught in a blink of an eye. If you go alone, they won’t easily notice your absence and won’t expect it. You have a better chance of success. If your disappearance is discovered, they will first search all over the residence, thinking you are hiding somewhere in the house. That will give you time to get to the south city gate.”
An Ruofang bit her lips, tears in her eyes. She understood. Her sister’s escape plan was arranged, but now it was given to her.
An Ruochen peeked through the broken window paper, looked at her sister, and asked her, “Do you dare to go alone?”
An Ruofang nodded her head vigorously. If there was any semblance of panic and hesitation in her heart about leaving her mother, it was now suppressed. The only chance for her sister to escape was given to her. An Ruofang wiped away her tears and said, “Sister, you must be good. When I grow up and have the ability, I will come back to find you and won’t allow that Qian evil man to bully you.”
An Ruochen fell into tears, wanting to touch her sister’s head, but unfortunately couldn’t. She said: ” If you suffer on the outside, don’t be afraid. You must remember, must remember, sister will go to look for you, sister will live, will be good. I will look for you, I will take care of you, and find a good family for you. If you have suffered, think about my words, I promise, I will go to look for you.”
An Ruofang nodded her head.
“Remember the stories I told you, the characters there are all brave and resourceful, and lead a good life. You will also be that way. Don’t be afraid.”
An Ruofang nodded again.
The two sisters looked at each other through the tiny hole broken in the window.
“Go now, don’t allow anyone to get suspicious.” An Ruochen said softly.
An Ruofang nodded again. Wiping away the tears and hiding the money, she said, “Sister, you also remember, must remember. If you suffer, don’t be anxious, and don’t be afraid, I will grow up to be capable and will come to pick you up.”
“Okay.” An Ruochen choked with sobs.
An Ruofang faintly heard the sound of someone coming. She gritted her teeth, “Sister, goodbye.” The little girl turned her head and ran away.
An Ruochen stuck to the window and listened to the movement outside. No one found her sister, there was nothing strange outside. She breathed a long sigh of relief and couldn’t help covering her eyes and crying.
See you again at another time.
An Ruochen climbed back into bed, pretending as if nothing had happened. After a short while, the nanny came, fed her soup and changed her medicine. An Ruochen endured the pain without saying a word. She recalled the fourth sister saying there was a dog hole, and thought the fourth sister will think of a way to sneak out through there.
At noon, An Ruochen had a meal, still lying on the bed. Her body did not move, but her heart was about to beat out of her chest. Did the fourth sister manage to go out? Is it too late?
There was no news. She was alone in the house, silent.