"Back then, I thought I was really going to die. I lost so much blood, those insect eggs hatched, and the insects drank my blood. There were other girls too, all struggling in heart-wrenching pain. At first, I was so scared, but gradually, I wasn’t anymore. I was dying, and I couldn’t do anything to that old bastard, but I could still curse him, and when my throat was ruined, I could still glare at him with my eyes..."
"Stop talking!" Jin Zijin lowered his head, covered her lips with his, and stifled the words in her mouth.
Regrettably, he got away!
Suddenly, he felt that it was better he had escaped. If he had died that day, he wouldn’t be able to taste a fate worse than death. As long as he was alive, there was still a chance.
His lips gently nibbled and turned, gradually soothing the waves of palpitations she was feeling.
It took a while before he let go of her.
Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered, "I came too late, do you blame me?"
Gu Youyou said, "I did, when I was close to dying, I blamed you. But then you came, just in time, I just had enough breath left to see you."
Jin Zijin sighed, his body trembling slightly. Fortunately, he came, just in time. He pulled up the thin blanket covering her legs and said, "I’ll take you home, this will never happen again."
"Mhm, good!" Gu Youyou nodded gently.
She had been out in the sun for quite a long time now.
Erya, having finished her confinement, came to Jisheng Hall with her newly born daughter to see Gu Youyou.
Gu Youyou needed to recuperate in tranquility, so she hadn’t gone to Lotus Village to see them.
The little one hadn’t been named yet; her eldest son took both their names, calling him Wang Qing, and she always hoped Gu Youyou would name her daughter.
"Big sister, you’re the most educated in our family. I hope this daughter can be as capable as you in the future."
Gu Youyou carefully took the baby into her arms. The little one was chubby, pale, and tenderly nurtured by Erya and Shunzi, an achievement rare for a child from a rural area in these times.
She took out a pair of small silver bracelets to play with her, and she began to laugh.
When she laughed, her eyes curved like crescents, just like the crescent moon in the sky.
Gu Youyou suddenly thought of her name.
She said, "Let’s call her Wang Yue, nickname Yue Ya. Look how her pretty eyes resemble crescents when she laughs."
Erya joyfully accepted the name, delightedly calling out ’Yue Ya, little Yue Ya.’
Knowing they were coming, Gu Youyou had prepared gifts for the child in advance, having had a pair of silver bracelets and two peace locks made.
All in silver, as gold would be too conspicuous in these parts.
She gave one pair of silver bracelets to Yue Ya, and a peace lock each to Yue Ya and Wang Qing.
Jin Zijin couldn’t stay long in Qingshui Town, so after Gu Youyou was fit enough for long travels, he took her back to Beijing.
The carriage looked very unassuming on the outside, but inside, it was comfortably arranged. Searcy and Gu Youyou sat inside, while Gui Yunxi drove the carriage, and sometimes Jin Zijin would take a turn.
The journey felt like traversing a million miles, from life to death, from death back to life, from one world to another.
She experienced all four seasons, the cycle of life and death, the changing tides, traversing mountains and rivers, from the rise of morning mists to the dispersal at twilight.
Life is endless, so the road has no end...
They traveled intermittently, taking nearly half a month to reach Beijing.
With all this turmoil, winter had already arrived in Beijing.