Chapter 134: Meeting a Clear Day Chapter 113: You and I Are the True Accomplices

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Shan Gu, sitting on the ground, looked at the newcomer — only to see a tall, jade-straight figure raise a hand, remove his hood, then let his hand fall again, like a dark eagle silently spreading and folding its wings in the night.

That night in the mountain villa, amid the bloodshed, he had only caught a fleeting glimpse and failed to make out the man's features; he only knew this person had ridden off with A Jie. Seeing him again now, he recognized him at once as the man from that night — not by face alone, but by this bearing, which was impossible to mistake.

Though he was their rescuer, Shan Gu sensed a natural threat in the man's bearing; he inexplicably scrambled to his feet, strode up the stone steps, hurriedly took the clay pot from A Jie's hands, and stood beside her, cradling the pot with both hands.

Liu Qi's gaze fell first on Shan Gu, then on the clay pot he held cupped in his hands.

Shaowei's reaction was, naturally, not the least bit cowed; she spoke with reason and evidence: "You killed the man with your own hand — didn't I already give that gift to you? Shan Gu wasn't there, so I specially gave him this one."

Hearing this, Shan Gu stood even straighter, his confidence bolstered.

The next instant, his lower leg was kicked by Shaowei lifting her foot: "This is the person who rescued you and me that night — if you're going to pay respects, call him Sixth Prince."

Shan Gu, clutching the clay pot, obediently raised his hand in salute: "Shan Gu thanks Sixth Prince!"

Liu Qi nodded: "No need to mention it."

The goods were secured; Shan Gu's heart settled, and the look and mood with which he worked for A Jie instantly returned: "A Jie, I'll go boil tea to receive the guest!"

Shaowei lifted her chin, indicating the direction: "The tea room is over there."

As she spoke, she had already stepped down the stone steps, brushing past Mo Li as he darted quickly into the main hall.

Mo Li burrowed into the main hall and, at a glance, spotted the snacks before the house slave; he plopped down beside them.

The house slave was drinking wine; he lifted his eyelids to glance at Mo Li, thinking that now he too had a household and career, he'd have to get someone to teach this kid the proper way to announce a visitor later.

Liu Qi's visit counted as a calling card sent in advance — though it was a verbal message relayed through Dou Shiyi.

Yesterday, Shaowei had already agreed to his proposal to visit, but had Dou Shiyi relay word to Liu Qi that she would have someone leave a back door for him after nightfall the next day — after all, her relationship with him could not see the light; the front gate was out of the question.

So tonight, as soon as darkness fell, Shaowei had Mo Li wait at the back door.

Having received the Young Master's instructions to avoid everyone at all costs, Mo Li scouted the way like a wild civet cat, vigilant at every step; Liu Qi accepted his guidance, and it felt less like a guest visit than like thievery.

Shaowei could also imagine this journey would inevitably be troublesome and circuitous; root cause: she had just arrived and had not yet tamed this residence — once she fully controlled every corner inside and out, it would naturally become much simpler.

Back then, Liu Qi could only hide her in the Ju Yuan bedroom; by contrast, Shaowei did not feel she was being rude at all — at this moment she walked lightly toward the visitor, her tone calm: "Now it's my turn to host you."

Liu Qi showed a hint of a smile: "Many thanks, Tai Puzhe Jiang, for tending the lamp and receiving me."

Shaowei was ultimately not very used to playing host as Head of Household; she turned to look toward the hall — only to see Mo Li and the house slave eating and drinking without a care — and her tone was no longer as calm as before: "Come with me… let's go inside and sit."

Liu Qi, however, looked behind her: "The spring night is mild and pleasant; the courtyard is also fine for sitting."

Shaowei looked back — the mat and small table that had been spread in the afternoon for sunbathing and reading were still there.

The two people thus sat facing each other on the ground in the courtyard, moonlight and lamplight blending, only a slight breeze brushing their faces without chill — truly a delightful spring night.

"Your injury — how is it healing?"

As Liu Qi asked, he looked at Shaowei; though no trace of that night's bloodstains remained now, that ordeal of injury and yet insisting on completing the Great Sacrifice had clearly damaged her vitality; though she had recuperated for over ten days, her cheeks still lacked roundness, only her spirit and complexion were passable.

"Count it as half healed; all the medicinal herbs and tonic supplements you sent, I ate them all." Shaowei answered, then asked him in turn: "And you?"

Liu Qi answered: "Also half healed; the fish soup and fresh eggs you sent, I ate them all too."

Having spoken these words of a student, he added: "But my injuries were light, not like you who nearly lost your life — they cannot be compared."

"My constitution is strong, and I recover faster than ordinary people — on this point, you also need not compare with me." Whenever Shaowei held the upper hand, she was especially generous: "Moreover, you have a leg ailment to begin with — just nurse it slowly."

Liu Qi, however, had heard A Ya explain that her extraordinary constitution was accompanied by a stubborn ailment conditioned through regulation, not an inborn advantage.

And at this moment her gaze fell on his crossed legs, and she suddenly asked: "I heard your leg ailment… was inflicted by Lord Lu back then?"

Liu Qi nodded: "Yes."

Shaowei hesitated a moment, then asked: "I also heard that because of this you bore a grudge against him — is that true as well?"

This question arose because, ultimately, this matter was a variable she had introduced, and she needed to use it to sort out the shifting situation.

"Back then I was young; when I rushed back to the capital, at the palace gate I witnessed the corpses of my maternal uncle and elder brother being humiliated and mutilated by Zhu Zhi and the others." Liu Qi lowered his eyes and said: "A momentary impulse — I was about to draw my sword and step forward."

His tone could already be called calm; when he raised his eyes again, he had completely returned to normal: "The arrow that wounded me was Lord Lu's desperate move to stop and save me — if I bore a grudge for that, that night's arrow should have pierced my throat."

Shaowei raised an eyebrow: "Then you were putting on an act?"

Liu Qi seemed to smile yet not smile: "Had I calmed down too quickly, seen friend and foe, right and wrong too clearly — it would have been very dangerous for both myself and him."

Shaowei understood, yet still looked at his legs: "Truly beyond cure?"

Those two words "truly" made Liu Qi lower his lashes; he unconsciously clenched his right hand, pressing it horizontally across that leg through his robe, and said: "It doesn't hinder anything — I'm used to it."

Shaowei heard only passive resignation in this, and couldn't help saying: "You still must actively treat it — you're so young, your bones haven't even finished growing; there might still be a chance of improvement."

She added: "These past days while recuperating, I've also been reading some medical texts on treating bone injuries — if one day I feel I've mastered them, I might also be able to take a look for you."

Let her examine his leg? The thought flashed, and Liu Qi felt a moment of discomposure; he was usually quick to react, and very naturally changed the subject: "Why would you think to study bone injury treatment?"

He wasn't so addle-headed as to think she was studying for his sake — after all, her words clearly still contained "might also."

"Idle with nothing to do, just learning casually…" Shaowei brushed it off with a sentence, waving at Shan Gu who was carrying the teapot: "Come here, right here!"

Shan Gu hurried over, set down the teapot, and fetched two clean tea bowls.

Just as the two bowls of tea were poured, Zhao Qie'an called out from inside the hall, telling Shan Gu to go in and add some hot tea.

Shan Gu acknowledged and ran into the hall.

He knelt to pour tea; Zhao Qie'an swallowed a mouthful of wine and reminded him in a hoarse voice: "This Sixth Prince is the Wuling Commandery Prince I told you about on the road."

Shan Gu looked up in shock: "The Wuling Commandery where my adoptive father and adoptive mother are now?"

In Taoxi Township, he naturally couldn't distinguish the order of the princes or their respective fiefs and titles.

Seeing Zhao Qie'an nod, Shan Gu couldn't help looking toward the person sitting opposite A Jie in the courtyard, then lowered his head to look at the clay pot tucked in his arms, momentarily conflicted — in the end he still couldn't bear to part with it, and only resolved to do something to repay him later.

At this moment, Liu Qi asked the question he had already prepared when he left Wuling Commandery.

"Wasn't it agreed you would write letters? Why have I not received a single one?"

He lifted the tea bowl, his voice leisurely and slow; though pleasant to hear, it gave Shaowei the illusion of being reproached, and for an instant Shaowei actually felt in the wrong. She paused a moment, then said: "Dou Shiyi knows my recent circumstances; presumably he would have reported them to you. Moreover, it is not that I would not write, but that I planned to write after the Shangsi Festival."

Liu Qi was puzzled: "Why?"

Shaowei sat cross-legged, upright, and spoke the truth: "I originally intended to use the Shangsi Festival Grand Sacrifice to create a sensation in the capital, and also knew there might be those who did not wish me to succeed; danger was bound to descend. If I died at this step, it would count as my being useless, and naturally there would be no need to waste brush, ink, paper, and silk."

Conversely, if she succeeded, she could write at great length; writing a letter would then have confidence behind it, and would not diminish the grand words and lofty ambitions she had when she left.

Liu Qi inexplicably lost focus. She was so concerned with face, yet so decisive; but in his heart a thought inexplicably rose: if she truly met with mishap here, would he not even get to see her last few words? Such a person would vanish in a flash like the epiphyllum or a shooting star, leaving not a trace.

This thought actually made one feel a groundless melancholy; Liu Qi could not help but say: "Even if you have not yet succeeded, you can still write letters; good things and bad things can both be spoken of."

Seeing Shaowei look over, he explained: "Only thus can information be exchanged in time; Dou Shiyi and the others only know the surface — how could they know what you are truly facing? Afterwards, both in the capital, sending messages is very convenient; we must correspond diligently."

Shaowei thought a moment, felt it was indeed reasonable, and nodded, then asked him: "But why did His Majesty suddenly summon you back to the capital? Is it because of the Yundang Mountain affair?"

"Yes." Liu Qi said: "After this matter blew up, it made Imperial Father remember me."

Shaowei looked at him: "Was this also one of your original plans?"

"It can only be counted as an unavoidable result under the plan." Liu Qi suddenly smiled: "Being remembered by Imperial Father is a good thing and a bad thing; he remembered me out of suspicion — this is a double-edged sword, but having a sword to use is, on the whole, still a good thing."

Having said this, Liu Qi hazily realized that when facing her, he always unconsciously said more words.

Just like tonight — he had come for serious business, yet also spoke many words unrelated to serious business.

In the course of conversation, Shaowei had been meeting his gaze; when she pondered, her gaze fell downward, and unintentionally swept across a section of neck at his dark-robed collar. Under the moonlight, its muscle texture seemed like cold jade; at the upright neck, the Adam's apple rolled slightly as he spoke. When his voice stopped, that Adam's apple also stilled, silent and still like some unknown wild creature hibernating.

Shaowei was merely briefly curious; her thoughts quickly flew away. By this point, she had roughly sorted out the changes that had occurred around Liu Qi.

This time, he had personally witnessed the miserable deaths of the Marquis of Changping and Crown Prince Gu; probably because of this, his temperament had become different from his previous life — he looked much more gloomy.

Speaking of it this way, if not for Marquis Lu's timely intervention to block, he might well have also lost his life that night... Her eight-character warning at the time, without much thought, not only failed to change the Marquis of Changping's fate, but nearly caused Liu Qi to die early as well.

He survived by luck, his temperament changed, and he gained even more direct hatred toward Zhu Zhi; at the same time he incurred Zhu Zhi's exceptional targeting and wariness; thus came the Yundang Mountain affair of this life.

And he in turn used the Yundang Mountain affair to scheme against Zhu Zhi, and therefore was "remembered" by the Emperor, giving the Emperor a "reason" to summon him back to the capital.

The road he walks has already greatly diverged from his previous life.

Her road, even more so, has been turned upside down.

Come next year, will she still die? Will Liu Qi still die?

Shaowei thought briefly, then shook her head in her heart; this is still an unknowable matter. The dangers she must face need not be elaborated; he is even a step ahead of her. To put it another way, both are desperate fugitives; one step forward and there is hope of once again becoming Yellow Springs companions.

Shaowei muttered to herself in her heart for a while, then suddenly saw that originally quiet, hibernating Adam's apple bob once; this made her instantly return to her senses, and at the same time she heard the person opposite ask in a somewhat uncomfortable tone: "... What is it?"

"Nothing, just thinking." Shaowei answered frankly, her gaze moving upward again; this made Liu Qi's tensed shoulders and arms silently relax. Only to hear her ask: "You will surely be in great danger in the capital; what are your plans next?"

Liu Qi smiled: "Filial piety, stay alive, take revenge."

The order is very important: one must fulfill filial piety to stay alive; one must stay alive to take revenge.

Shaowei could not help thinking of the result of his filial piety in his previous life; the Emperor seemed to have been angered to death by the news of his rebellion.

Of course, he also died on the very night the funeral bell tolled; just think of it as him closely following to the Yellow Springs to continue fulfilling filial piety.

This man who moved the Yellow Springs with filial piety now asked her: "What about you? Zhu Zhi is dead; what is your next step?"

Shaowei: "I want to kill Immortal Master Chiyang."

She looked at Liu Qi and said: "I was going to tell you anyway; he is my enemy; you must be careful."

Her warning and concern were not quite like ordinary people's: "Lest you, unaware, inadvertently conspire with him and also become my enemy."

Toward enemies, she has always been unyielding to the death.

Liu Qi smiled and nodded: "Good, I have noted it; I will be careful; I will absolutely not become his accomplice."

As he spoke, he lifted the tea bowl, gesturing toward her: "You and I are the accomplices; we might as well take this tea as witness and form a long-lasting alliance; how about it?"

Shaowei looked at the tea bowl he lifted, and thought: this person never visits the Three Treasures Hall without a reason — this is probably the purpose of his visit tonight.

This purpose is not unreasonable; she entered the capital relying on his help; in this capital, every step is perilous; he is originally her best choice — only —

"I cannot agree to all of it." Shaowei said.

"Why?" Liu Qi was puzzled, subconsciously saying: "Where did I again speak or act wrongly, making you feel displeased, uneasy? You just say it like last time; I can still reflect."

"This time it is not your problem!" Shaowei interrupted his questioning and said: "It is me. My matter should be finished very soon; if at that time I am alive, and have found the person I seek, I will certainly take her away; therefore I cannot form a long-lasting alliance with you."

She values promises highly; therefore she will not rashly promise.

But in Liu Qi's mind at this moment, only the four words "leave very soon" were clearest; he asked in a daze: "You now have your own manor here, are already the Shrine Master Tai Zhu; have you never thought of staying?"

Shaowei shook her head: "These are not what I want; they are only for temporary use. I only want to find her, and avenge her."

Liu Qi at this moment could not discern whether the "she" in Shaowei's mouth was male or female, old or young; but a person worth her risking her life to find must be important beyond measure.

He could not help asking: "If you can find the person, and leave together, where do you plan to go?"

Shaowei: "Haven't thought it through; in any case, the farther the better; never come to this Chang'an again."

These crisp, decisive words inexplicably made one feel a bit melancholy and at a loss; Liu Qi lowered his eyelids, looking at the tea bowl he had still not withdrawn; a moment later, he returned to his senses and said with a smile: "Also good."

He said: "This place was never a good place to begin with."

From long ago he had thought: if one day he could find Yu'er, he would surely send Yu'er to a place no one could find, letting her grow up safe and happy.

Only now Congnan has already been found, yet Yu'er still has no news; Congnan feels guilty for this, and he likewise cannot be at peace; in dreams he often sees his brother and sister-in-law weeping. But Yu'er was too young at the time, still an infant; by now her appearance must have greatly changed; it is precisely because of this that there have always been no clues.

As long as he lives, he must continue searching; if one day he truly finds her, he must also send her far away from Chang'an, absolutely not letting her be drawn into this bloody strife.

Putting himself in her shoes, he had no grounds to persuade the person before him to stay; just as he was about to withdraw the tea bowl, the bowl's rim was heavily struck by another bowl; accompanied by this crisp sound, a few drops of tea spilled.

Liu Qi followed that tea bowl upward with his gaze, only to hear her say: "Although we cannot form a long-lasting alliance, before I leave, you and I can certainly scheme and assist each other."

Seeing him momentarily silent, Shaowei asked solemnly: "You are unwilling? Could it be that tonight's visit actually requires me to sign a long-term indenture contract with you before you'll agree?"

Sensing a trace of dangerous aura as if a fierce beast were about to bristle, Liu Qi abruptly returned to his senses, smiled amiably, cupped the bowl with both hands, and touched it to hers: "Then it is settled with this one word."

After the touch, he took the lead in expressing his stance, raised his head and drank the tea, without the slightest hesitation.

Shaowei gulped down the tea in one go, then set the bowl down.

Liu Qi drank only a few sips before setting the bowl down; seeing that her bowl was already empty, he feared she might mistake his restraint for lack of sincerity, so he laid his right arm across the small table as a slight screen.

Moonlight reflected in the unfinished tea, rippling a circle of shimmering light.

A voice in Liu Qi's heart said: he was but a lonely, vengeful ghost; to encounter such an extraordinary divine being, even brief companionship was more than enough.

Even one's closest kin could become strange and terrifying in a single night; he had never again thought to weave a close, lasting bond with anyone — it must be because she was truly extraordinary, stirring in him a greedy desire for long-term collusion, and formlessly he actually harbored such an unrealistic heretical thought.

He indeed ought to properly reflect and sober up, lest he lose his wits again and again.

Liu Qi no longer spoke on his own initiative, but every matter Shaowei asked about, he answered in meticulous detail.

Shaowei finished asking all she wanted to ask, and did not detain him further; she had to enter the palace for an audience tomorrow and needed to rest early.

Liu Qi rose, took his leave, and went, leaving only half a bowl of tea still swaying beneath the moon.

Mo Li naturally had to be called by Shaowei to see the guest off; the household servants also had to return the stolen person to his original place; Shan Gu begged him to steal once more tomorrow night without fail, for he still had words left unsaid.

Everyone went off to their own business; Shaowei heard no noise from Xiao Yu, ran to the study to look, and saw the person already sprawled on the book desk, snoring fast asleep, saliva spread in a puddle, just short of blowing a string of fish bubbles.

Shaowei flew into a rage, hauled this lazy fish onto the bed, and punished her to write double tomorrow.

The next day, at first light, Yu Si Wu arrived at Jiang Zhai with carriages, horses, and Wu practitioners, helping Hua Li prepare down to the last detail for entering the palace.

?? (Promising! Updated extra today, five thousand words~ Begging for monthly tickets! Good night, everyone!)