Chapter 227

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

Xiao Yu ran over, but seeing Liu Qi was also there, her steps slowed involuntarily.

Liu Qi already had a smile on his face, and now he transformed that smile into the gentle expression of an elder; because he truly lacked experience, it came off as slightly stiff and deliberate, yet it also showed another kind of sincere effort.

Xiao Yu hesitated for a moment, took a piece of candy from the box she was holding in front of her, and handed it to the person with the deliberate smile.

Liu Qi was quite surprised; at the moment he bent down to take it, his niece immediately lifted the entire box with both hands high up, as if presenting tribute: "Young Master, eat candy!"

The treatment was worlds apart, as if he himself had become the poison tester; Liu Qi sighed toward the candy box that Shaowei had taken over, but the smile in his eyes did not diminish—it increased; as he straightened up, he casually tossed the malt sugar upward, caught it with his head tilted back, put the sugar in his mouth, and his mood brightened.

Turning to Shaowei, he said: "The poison has been tested, and I am not dead; please, Mountain Lord, feel free to enjoy it."

As he spoke, Liu Qi's smile was radiant; the originally smooth contour of his side face had a bulge where he held the malt sugar.

Shaowei stared at that spot on his face, suspecting he had a smug and teasing streak; the unexpected collision on the boat inevitably surfaced in her mind again, and for a moment she felt as though the heavens were shocked and the earth moved; on the surface Shaowei remained composed, turned her head away, stuffed a hard candy into her mouth, and chewed it fiercely, wanting to turn the noisy sound of chewing candy into fierce little soldiers to forcibly drive that embarrassing image from her mind, lock it in the heavenly prison, and never allow it to be recalled again.

However, the sugar was chewed into powder, and the image also dispersed like shattered pieces, clamoring and escaping from all directions in her mind, drilling into her heart, rushing into her mouth and nose, difficult to grasp; it was both hateful and annoying, yet strangely mixed with the clear sweet scent of the malt sugar, indistinguishable.

Ling Congnan, holding that pepperwood small sword in his hand, glanced back and forth between the two people eating candy, and revealed a slight smile.

Liu Qi bent down and asked the child before him: "Xiao Yu, would you be so kind as to speak with me as well?"

The disparity in how his niece distributed candy was only natural and reasonable; apart from the childhood companionship that left no memory in the child's mind, he and Yu'er had only met twice this time; a small child suddenly learning of a heavy identity inevitably needs time to accept it; that she no longer cried and wailed, regarding him as a thief, was already worth rejoicing over.

Facing this invitation, Xiao Yu fell silent for a moment, then looked up to ask the Young Master for guidance.

Shaowei nodded, and only then did Xiao Yu say: "Alright."

Uncle and nephew went into the pavilion to talk; Ling Congnan put the small sword into his sleeve, raised his hand, and bowed to the girl before him to express thanks.

"You need not thank me repeatedly. I originally had no intention of saving or sheltering you; everything was Xiao Yu saving herself." Shaowei spoke frankly, while also displaying the Young Master's elder airs: "Keep this gratitude; in the future, just use it to treat Xiao Yu well."

"Yes, Yu'er has suffered much hardship; I and Sithui ought to treat her well and make amends." Ling Congnan said in a gentle voice: "However, for the coming period, we still need the Marquis of Lingling to shelter Yu'er; Yu'er's identity is special, and Marquis Jun's action also carries the risk of death; we must certainly remember this kindness."

Many sins do not weigh on the body; Shaowei, who never took such risks of death to heart, was impatient to keep refusing and saying more, and instead looked at the gentle youth before her, feeling that his appearance was worlds apart from what she had imagined.

Upon close examination of his features, one could faintly see the shadow of the Marquis of Changping, but his temperament was neither like that of a general's descendant, nor like someone bearing a blood feud; he was gentle and calm, like a grass-eating white sheep.

Shaowei had long recognized that people's natures are worlds apart, but she was still confused by this; the Marquis of Changping's choice back then was at least out of maintaining his own Dao, and there must have been many struggles and considerations, yet she did not know what considerations this Young Master of the Ling Family had made, to actually cultivate such an otherworldly demeanor.

She looked at Ling Congnan, and Ling Congnan was also looking at her; with some curiosity and admiration he said: "I have heard that Marquis Jun possesses the strange power to communicate with heaven, earth, ghosts, and gods..."

On this side, the two exchanged pleasantries; in the pavilion, Xiao Yu sat properly, listening to her uncle, whom she was not yet familiar with, trying to get close to her.

Because he noticed that his niece was no longer rejecting him outright, as he spoke on, Liu Qi seized the opportunity to make a suggestion in a low voice, trying to appear cooperative on the surface while acting underneath, asking his niece to pay more attention to Shaowei's mood for him; unexpectedly, his niece immediately turned hostile: "Colluding with the enemy is a capital crime! I don't want to betray Young Master..."

Liu Qi immediately leaned forward and covered his niece's mouth, which was bent on proving her innocence without regard for his life; with his other hand he made a shushing gesture, while paying attention to whether Shaowei was looking over this way.

The plan to bribe his niece failed; Liu Qi, who had broken out in a cold sweat from fright, returned in defeat; after an hour, he was taken away from Taoxi Mountain Villa by a household slave.

In the carriage, Ling Congnan spoke of what he and Xiao Yu had said; finally, he smiled and said: "Although young, she is quite alert, has her own ideas and is on guard, not easy to talk to... except for her appearance, in other respects she does not resemble her brother and sister-in-law."

"That is good," Liu Qi said.

"Yes, that is good..." Ling Congnan's voice lowered slightly: "It's just that she must have suffered much hardship to grow into such a temperament that is not easy to bully."

"Sithui, I previously advised you to let go of your hatred because old matters have already been set in stone and cannot be changed; also, I believed this path was a dead end, so I only wanted you to live as safely and steadily as possible, not wanting you to bear such a heavy burden, to go to this mountain of knives and sea of fire, and lose your life in vain..."

Ling Congnan looked at Liu Qi sitting cross-legged opposite the table, feeling somewhat ashamed: "But you have done very well; it is something I could not imagine... And today, seeing Yu'er, I finally understand that what you seek is not meaningless."

Old matters cannot be changed, but the harm suffered by innocent children continues; that grievance will continue to persecute and hunt this child, and the world will forever regard her parents as rebels who deserved death.

Even if he could set everything aside and isolate himself, he ultimately could not impose his own feelings on others; today, facing those lively eyes so like his brother and sister-in-law, he truly could not say to that child the words of advice to let go of everything.

Liu Qi said: "Yu'er does not remember things from her childhood; in the end, she will not become like me; she can let go of this hatred; Congnan, you too can let go with peace of mind."

Ling Congnan was stunned; he saw that there was some smile in Liu Qi's eyes: "After I conclude this matter, from then on the sky will be high and the sea wide; you and the little fish will both be free."

Ling Congnan's eyes turned slightly red; the letting go that Sithui wanted was the letting go after concluding things, and he no longer demanded that he bear this hatred together; instead, he chose to understand his choice, to conclude everything on his behalf, and give him complete freedom.

It was different from when they first reunited in Wuling Commandery; Sithui no longer feared walking alone, and perhaps because he had found a true companion, he was fearless and open, having put away much of his gloom and obsession, and even reappeared with his childhood temperament.

Tears of both joy and guilt lingered in Ling Congnan's eyes; suddenly he heard Liu Qi ask: "Congnan, today seeing Yu'er and mentioning old matters, do you remember anything?"

After the reunion, Ling Congnan had once said he forgot how he escaped from the palace; he only knew that after falling seriously ill from excessive fear and grief, upon waking he had lost the memory of his escape; his pain and hatred were also isolated, his emotions became detached, and out of not wanting to implicate Liu Qi again, he had always hidden alone.

Liu Qi had once speculated that perhaps he was protected by a kind palace servant or an Imperial Guard amidst the chaos; Ling Congnan at that time only shook his head and said again in a low voice that he could not remember clearly.

Now Liu Qi asked again; Ling Congnan lowered his eyes, his voice still very low: "Sithui, I have also been trying to recall this matter recently... when I remember, I will certainly tell you."

Liu Qi looked at him and smiled: "Alright, no rush."

Liu Qi still had matters to handle and thus returned to the Sixth Prince's Residence; Ling Congnan returned to the separate courtyard where he was temporarily staying.

This separate courtyard looked extremely ordinary and quiet; Ling Congnan, wearing a wide Daoist Robe, sat by the window in the house, watching birds pecking at the ripe persimmons on the persimmon tree in the courtyard.

After quietly observing for a long time, he withdrew his gaze, looked at the brush and ink on the table before him, and finally took up the brush to write a silk letter.

This silk letter was a reply that should have been written yesterday, but its content was not only a response; it also included a request and inquiry regarding breaking a promise.

After writing this letter, Ling Congnan went out alone through the back door; when he returned, the sky was already dark; he lit three sticks of incense for the lamp, inserted them into the three-legged bronze incense burner, sat cross-legged with focused spirit, and recited the Heart Sutra.

The burning incense of heaven and earth rose with fragrant mist; Ling Congnan closed his eyes, and vaguely returned to that hazy quiet room surrounded by fragrant mist; there were devout recitations of Daoist scriptures echoing by his ears, and gentle hands stroking the top of his head... day after day, dissolving his fear and pain.

In the courtyard, the birds pecking at persimmons had already returned to their nests; when they leave the nest the next day, they will fly across the sky in flocks, awakening a morning sun colored like ripe persimmons.

In the Rui Fu, shrouded in morning light, Rui Ze looked at the abundant food table before him, but had no thought of swallowing.

The news coming from various places recently made him extremely irritable.

After the Grand Sacrifice of Zhuojin, that Liu Qi offended many Princes and Marquises; the courtiers secretly and vaguely began to say that the Sixth Prince had extraordinary courage; the previous talk of auspicious signs and the merit of breaking Prince Liang's rebellion were brought up again...

Furthermore, as the Yellow River flood control began, several prefectures and counties affected by the flood actually had slanderous words circulating: "The Rui Clan falsely claims that the heavenly will cannot be obstructed; in fact, they use the flood to enrich the granaries and fields of their clan, disregarding the founding emperor's heart of pitying the people." These were used by several rebellious mobs to widely proclaim that the Rui Clan's virtue did not match their position and they would surely suffer heavenly punishment... Censors heard the news and submitted memorials; although he suppressed it by his authority, how could the rumors outside the capital be so easily controlled?

Rui Ze suspected that Liu Qi was behind these rumors; and the reason this matter was stirred up ultimately lay in that fox spirit who claimed at the drop of a hat that the founding emperor had entrusted a dream about flood control; not only did it cut off his path to fertile fields and harvests, but it also brought him such troublesome objections.

Guo Shi had also been sending messages frequently recently, saying that in Jianzhang Palace, the Son of Heaven occasionally summoned the Sixth Prince into the palace, and sometimes mentioned old events from many years ago; and reminiscing about the past was probably the beginning of the imperial heart wavering...

"Pa!"

Rui Ze slammed down his chopsticks, rose from the table, left the mansion, and boarded the carriage entering the palace.

The wheels rolled, his thoughts were chaotic, and Rui Ze's mind frequently flashed back to the scene in the Zhu Jin Da Ji shrine: the ruthless youth holding a blood blade, the ghost-and-spirit girl standing guard above... This scene had appeared repeatedly in his nightmares lately; although he did not lightly believe in ghosts and spirits, he felt this was an extremely ominous omen.

The suspicion that the two had long been colluding always existed, and even if he was overly suspicious, observing the flower fox's actions made it clear they were targeting him for revenge...

He only hated that he could not mobilize a large force of strong troops and powerful crossbows to crush these two ominous people; he wanted to see exactly whether these two people of flesh and blood could actually be killed... However, the Emperor was still present, and under the Son of Heaven's eyes, he was not allowed such audacity.

He should only endure until the Crown Prince succeeded to the throne and the situation was settled, then eliminate this threat; but if this continued, would the Crown Prince ultimately be able to smoothly inherit the great mandate...

Rui Ze was vexed and restless, wishing to enter the palace to discuss countermeasures with the Crown Prince and trusted ministers.

Feeling too stifled, he felt the carriage interior was cramped; he casually opened the carriage window to breathe, appearing to watch the scenery along the way, but his thoughts remained scattered.

Passing a long street, the scent of Jing Xin Xiang drifted through the air; this incense smell for worshipping Heaven and Earth was very familiar to Rui Ze, so he subconsciously looked toward that incense shop; outside the shop people came and went, and several people carrying box after box of Heaven and Earth Incense into a carriage caught Rui Ze's gaze.

Although these few people wore common clothes, because they were attendants who habitually served Empress Rui, and the leader was a maidservant who had followed Empress Rui for many years, Rui Ze could not help but recognize them at a glance.

For many years the Empress had been very sincere, and for years she had habitually had palace people purchase specific Heaven and Earth Incense from certain incense shops outside the palace; Rui Ze had always known this, because palace people went out of the palace to buy in the first half of the day, so he occasionally encountered buying palace people like today.

This was not unusual, but Rui Ze vaguely recalled that a few days ago when he went to the Empress's palace, he seemed to have seen palace people carrying box after box of incense products to the shrine where the Empress worshipped.

Such purchasing was inevitably frequent, but after all it was just a trivial small matter; Rui Ze did not think deeply about it, and just as he withdrew his gaze, he saw that maidservant turn her head and see the Rui Fu carriage, but she hurriedly withdrew her gaze again and directed the inner attendants to move the incense.

Rui Ze slightly frowned.

He had always cared whether his subordinates were sufficiently respectful, and this maidservant seemed to want to pretend she had not seen his carriage, but this slave girl had always been extremely respectful to him... Therefore that momentary reaction was more like an unconscious action made without much thought due to nervousness.

All the Heaven and Earth Incense had been loaded onto the carriage; the maidservant, whose face showed no abnormality, was about to board the carriage when suddenly someone called out to her from behind.

"Miss Zi Qin, the Marquis requests your presence."

Soon, Rui Ze's personal attendant withdrew from the carriage, and a maidservant named Zi Qin boarded the Hou Mansion carriage in her place.

The carriage drove away from the congested long street and arrived at a dead end alley with no one at the end of the street; Rui Ze had not spoken all the way, only quietly watching the maidservant kneeling with her head bowed.

Sensing that unclear gaze, the maidservant did not dare to raise her head; until the carriage stopped did she open her mouth to ask for instructions: "May I ask if the Marquis has any orders?"

After a moment, Rui Ze opened his mouth: "This Marquis remembers that the Empress's palace seems to have just purchased a batch of worship incense a few days ago; why did you come to buy incense again today?"

The maidservant hurriedly answered: "Replying to the Marquis, the Heaven and Earth Incense brought back to the palace a few days ago was accidentally spoiled by tea water."

"Accidentally spoiled..." Rui Ze emphasized the first two words, then suddenly sneered: "Was it truly an accident, or do you lot need this excuse to leave the palace?"

The maidservant hurriedly lowered her body: "The Marquis misunderstands; there is absolutely no such thing!"

Such a guilty conscience reaction only further aroused Rui Ze's suspicion; recently he had been purging spies everywhere, and he was in a state of excessive suspicion. At this critical juncture of the Crown Prince's regency, who knew how many foreign enemies were watching the Crown Prince's palace and Jiaofang Dian, and his sister was truly too soft-hearted, negligent, and careless; day and night he feared only that his personal palace attendants would be bribed, stirring up another Witchcraft Calamity similar to Ling Taizi's...

Rui Ze had always had a ruthless side in his actions; he had no need for patient probing when dealing with servants. Now that suspicion had arisen, he suddenly grabbed the maidservant's hair bun, forcing her to raise her head, as if deceiving and interrogating: "Answer this Marquis truthfully: who gave you benefits to drive you, and what did you plan to do by leaving the palace? Will you confess yourself, or shall this Marquis search your body first, then carefully interrogate your family outside the palace?"

The maidservant, whose hair bun was being held tightly, let out a terrified scream. Knowing Rui Ze's style of rather killing the wrong than letting the guilty go, her tense mind for many days suddenly broke its guard; fearing she would have no chance to defend herself and save her life, she immediately cried out both flustered and wronged: "Marquis... this slave is wronged; this slave was only acting on Empress's orders! I have never committed any act of betraying my master!"

—She had a secret she had been forced to hide for a long time; that secret had finally been covered up and settled with that person's departure from the capital... But who knew that person suddenly returned, not knowing what trouble and changes he would bring; the Empress was thus unsettled in mind, and this little maidservant was even more worried day and night!

"Acting on the Empress's orders?" Rui Ze narrowed his eyes: "What orders did you receive, and what did you do?"

?? Everyone good night.