A life of clearness

Chapter 68 White Butterfly
At this moment, the two of them let go of all their defenses in front of outsiders and talked in soft voices. They realized that a story that seemed a bit absurd in the eyes of others had developed to this point in a plain and tortuous way, which was indeed a blessing for the two of them.

"There is one more thing about Jiajia." Rong Qing recalled the details. "On the day when the earth dragon of Suicheng turned over, Dugu compared the place where Jiajia hid and the place where you were found. He felt something was wrong, so he warned me in every possible way."

Zhong Xiu knew what Rong Qing was referring to as soon as he heard it, and his eyes wandered for a moment before he looked back at Rong Qing. However, her suddenly pursed lips and stiff cheeks showed that she was not at ease.

In other words, what Rong Qing was going to say next would hit the point that she feared the most.

"Jia Jia was in the courtyard where an old couple lived, but unfortunately they died because of the earthquake. When Dugu found you, you actually ran back from the direction of the outer city." Rong Qing looked at Zhong Xiu. At this time, Zhong Xiu's face was full of tears. She couldn't bear it, but she continued. "If you want to speculate, it can only be that you had planned it in the first place. You took the opportunity to take Jia Jia out and put Jia Jia in the courtyard of the old couple. The old couple are kind-hearted. When they see Jia Jia, they will definitely send her home, or they will keep her to raise her, so you can rest assured. And you also took enough money and certificates to go out of the city. It didn't look like you were running away, but like you were going out for a trip, so naturally the journey was very smooth."

"But after the earth dragon turned over, you still ran back. You even regretted not taking Jia Jia with you."

Zhong Xiu wiped the tears from her face with her sleeves. The tears instantly soaked her sleeves. "No wonder Doctor Dugu has always disliked me."

"He's unhappy because you left Jia Jia behind... Of course, this is just my guess. As long as he knows the details."

"?" Zhong Xiu choked up and said, "Didn't Doctor Dugu reveal all this to you, sir?"

"...No. He didn't say that much." In fact, Dugu Zhi was just reminding Rong Qing to be careful of Zhong Xiu. "I just dare to make a bold guess in this regard. Of course, I have always been careful in my arguments." Rong Qing didn't say that many times, she didn't deliberately look for it, but the information that came into her ears was enough to piece together a rough truth.

"Yes, sir, you are right." Zhong Xiu choked with tears, but laughed softly, "The Jin couple has no children, they are willing to take Jia Jia in and raise her. Besides, Jia Jia doesn't like to talk, doesn't like to play, and won't be easily discovered by outsiders. The night I first met sir, I thought it was my last night with Jia Jia. So I took her to eat wonton soup with chicken. Gong Xiaolang would only give me some copper coins when I took Jia Jia out. I usually saved a few and hid them, but I didn't save a single copper coin for the wontons that night."

Even though Zhong Xiu gave birth to Jia Jia for Gong Xiaolang, she was still an outsider, even a servant who could be beaten and scolded at will. Zhong Xiu must have wanted to escape a long time ago. Even after giving birth to Jia Jia, she might have hesitated or struggled. But she finally made up her mind to leave. It's not that she didn't want to keep Jia Jia by her side, but she couldn't bear to see Jia Jia suffer by her side, so she would rather leave her to an upright old couple.

The two people who were looking at each other did not notice that Dugu Zhi, who was lying in a wheelchair beside them, opened his eyes slightly, his eyes dim, and then closed them again.

"If you care about my opinion, I have to tell you that I don't think you are wrong." Rong Qing saw that Zhong Xiu's sleeves were soaked, so she simply used her sleeves to wipe her face. "Before being Jia Jia's mother, you must first be Zhong Xiu. As Zhong Xiu, you must love yourself first. Only then will you have the energy to love others. The ones who are really wrong are your father, the Gong couple, and even those who only gossip. You are not wrong."

Rong Qing's eyes were too sincere. When Zhong Xiu looked at her through the mist in his eyes, he felt a slight burning sensation in his heart. It was not pain, but the illusion of something too cold suddenly encountering warmth.

"I thought you would stand up for Jia Jia." Zhong Xiu smiled bitterly.

"You have to ask Jiajia what she thinks." Rong Qing reiterated, "If you feel very guilty, wait for me to bring her here and you can talk to her in person. If she feels wronged, ask for her forgiveness. If she never forgives you, you can only accept this."

"How can I accept this..."

"You know in your heart that you are Zhong Xiu. Mother is just your identity, but not everything to you. Similarly, you can't be everything to Jia Jia, so don't be too burdened by this. You are sure that you love her deeply, and that's enough."

In fact, Rong Qing could see that the mother and daughter loved each other deeply, which was enough to make many people envious, including Rong Qing herself.

Zhong Xiu nodded with sobs.

"Okay." Rong Qing looked at Zhong Xiu's red and swollen eyelids, "I'll show you a magic trick."

She raised her finger and pointed at Zhong Xiu's bun, and a golden butterfly flew out, fluttering its wings in front of the two of them.

Rong Qing gently held it in her palm.

"You don't want me to blow again, do you?" Zhong Xiu obviously recalled Rong Qing's trick of making the fire disappear.

"……also."

Zhong Xiu followed his instructions and blew air into her clasped hands.

Rong Qing clasped her hands together, and the golden butterfly suddenly disintegrated in her palms, turning into extremely pure spiritual energy that returned to Rong Qing's meridians. She performed the hand gestures very quickly. This heart-shaped forbidden hand gesture was complicated, and the spiritual energy route involved all the meridians. It was the strongest forbidden she had mastered.

And with the completion of the first floor of the spiritual platform, the power of this ban has definitely increased greatly. Because the stronger Rong Qing's mind and will are, the stronger the heart ban will be.

Zhong Xiu held his breath. Rong Qing loosened her grip and a white butterfly appeared.

It is even smaller than the golden butterfly, only as big as a fingernail. Its wings are extremely delicate, like ice and jade.

It seemed to recognize its owner. It slowly flew to Zhong Xiu's temples and stayed there, with only the occasional fluttering of its wings.

"With it by your side, I feel relieved even if I leave temporarily."

Rong Qing learned her lesson from Sima Erba, so she will not make the same mistake again. Zhong Xiu and Du Guzhi sneaked into Cangliuzhou, and perhaps even the inspector did not find out. It would be safest for them to stay in Cangliuzhou. And Jia Jia would go to pick them up in person to avoid any accidents.

When Rong Qing arrived at the pavilion in the center of the mirror table, she let the golden butterfly fall into Zhong Xiu's hair, which was the last line of defense to protect Zhong Xiu. Now the white butterfly has stronger protection ability.

After the Heart-shaped Forbidden Technique was used, it turned into a butterfly. Unless the previous one collapsed, Rong Qing could only control one. So Rong Qing quickly used the more powerful Heart-shaped Forbidden Technique.

It was a rainy night when Rong Qing arrived at Suicheng. Under the cover of several restrictions, he moved to the seaside through Baishi Temple, and then flew here using Fuxiu from the seaside.

The city was full of lights. With the death of Yun Tong, Sima Erba and others, Jing State seemed to have returned to its former state. Originally, it was a turbulent confrontation, and many people would be sensitive to the uneasy meaning in it. However, Rong Qing now felt the bustle in the streets and understood that they felt that the danger had gone away. But was it really so?
Whenever Rong Qing thought of Concubine Ji and her group of well-trained Nascent Soul cultivators, she felt that a storm was about to come.

She went to Dugu Zhi's yard first.

Knocked on the door formally.

It was Aunt Zhi who opened the door. The woman who had been following Duguzhi silently was now obviously haggard. She was full of surprise when she saw Rongqing.

"Mr. Yu! You're here." Seeing Rong Qing was alone, she couldn't help but get nervous, "Mr. Yu, do you know the whereabouts of my son?"

"Don't worry, Aunt Zhi. He's very safe with me."

"That's good, that's good." Aunt Zhi nodded repeatedly. She still trusted Rong Qing's words. "Mr. Yu, is it convenient for us to go over and take care of the young master?"

"Actually, it's not very convenient." Rong Qing said truthfully, "I came here today because the place where Dugu and I are staying is inaccessible. It will take about three years for us to come back. I was afraid that you would miss Dugu, so I came here to tell you."

"This..." Aunt Zhi hesitated for a moment, lowered her head and whispered in Rong Qing's ear, "Is the young master in Cangliuzhou?"

Rong Qing raised an eyebrow.

Aunt Zhi saw Rong Qing's expression and knew that her guess was correct. She smiled bitterly, "Mr. Yu, don't worry. I am the only one who knows about this matter, and it is not that the young master revealed it unintentionally. It is... I am the old lady's personal maid, so I know a little from the old lady."

Old lady? Rong Qing's mind raced. Aunt Zhi must be referring to Dugu Zhi's mother.

"I am ashamed to say that as a friend of Dugu, I have not been able to visit the old lady for so long. Aunt Zhi, can you introduce her to me?"

Aunt Zhi looked embarrassed, "To be honest with you, Mr. Yu, the old lady has actually passed away for more than three years."

"Is that so..." Rong Qing sighed. No wonder there was a scent of agarwood on Aunt Zhi's cuffs. "Allow me to light a stick of incense for the old lady."

Aunt Zhi nodded, bowed, and led the way for Rong Qing.

Rong Qing didn't expect that the old lady's tablet was placed next to Dugu Zhi's bedroom.

After opening the door, a cool scent of sandalwood wafted into my nose.

There was still incense burning in front of the tablet, but the dark table was extremely clean, without any ash.

"In the past, the young master personally burned incense for the old lady. He burned one stick every day without interruption." Aunt Zhi stood at the door and explained, "After the young master left, we servants had to go beyond the rules and burn incense on his behalf. We thought that when the young master came back one day, we would have an explanation to him."

"Doesn't Dugu's father come here often?"

"I haven't seen her since the old lady passed away. And even when she was alive, there was very little news from her."

Rong Qing lit a stick of incense and bowed respectfully.

The curling smoke makes the portrait, which is already in the shadow, even more ethereal. This portrait seems to be a casual sketch, but with just a few strokes, it fully captures the charm of a gentle woman.

"Do you think people who practice Taoism are ruthless?" Rong Qing suddenly asked.

Aunt Zhi didn't know whether Rong Qing asked her, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"People who practice Taoism have their own things to do, which are things that mortals cannot participate in. Even if they don't go out to gain experience, just seclusion can take several years or even more than ten years. Faced with such a situation, I'm afraid that even the strongest love will fade." Rong Qing said lightly, she was very clear about the problems she was facing now.

Because of her, Zhong Xiu's life span has been reduced to a very dangerous level. She must find a way to extend Zhong Xiu's life span. This will inevitably result in Rong Qing not being able to accompany Zhong Xiu. What if, in the end, she still doesn't find it, and even the last time she can spend with Zhong Xiu will be missed. Rong Qing dare not imagine whether Zhong Xiu will complain when he reaches that situation.

"Despite this, Yun Tong is indeed a heartless person. He is greedy for the novelty of the moment, but is unable to take responsibility for a long time."

Rong Qing looked at the words on the tablet. Dugu obviously didn't like his father either, and didn't leave any information about his father.

The Dugu clan was mentioned in the Jingguo royal family genealogy that Rong Qing had read a few years ago as a branch that separated from the royal family in the early years. Madam Dugu was probably also a dignified and generous noble girl when she was young.

Coming out of the room, Rong Qing turned her head and asked Aunt Zhi, "Is Gong Xiaolang from the next yard still here?"

"Mr. Yu, their family of three is here at this time." Aunt Zhi answered respectfully.

Then, she saw Rong Qing slowly walk across the yard and walk to the wall that separated the two houses. She tiptoed and lightly jumped into the other yard.

The world suddenly fell into an unusual silence. The street market in the distance was still bustling, with the sounds of hawkers and children playing together. Aunt Zhi subconsciously pressed her wrist, and a warrior's intuition made her stare at the dark courtyard wall. For a long time, she felt a chill in her heart.

(End of this chapter)