Chapter 1634: [Suspicion] (Part 2)

After Xia Zhangming left, Hu Xiaotian straightened his robes and then knocked on Jian Rongxin's door; from inside came Jian Rongxin's indifferent voice: "The door isn't shut; just come in yourself."

Hu Xiaotian pushed the door open and entered; the brazier inside was burning warmly, and stepping from the freezing outdoors into the room gave the feeling of suddenly going from deep winter to spring.

Jian Rongxin had already set out food and drink on the table; what surprised Hu Xiaotian was that a pot of wine was still warming on the small clay stove.

Hu Xiaotian glanced at the wine pot, and a hint of a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Jian Rongxin said, "Haven't you eaten yet? Let's eat together!"

Hu Xiaotian deliberately said, "How about a couple of drinks to warm up?"

Jian Rongxin said softly, "I don't even know how I got drunk yesterday, so I want to think it over carefully while I'm sober." As she spoke, her delicate brows involuntarily knit; though usually gentle and virtuous, Jian Rongxin also had a temper, and this expression showed her dissatisfaction with Hu Xiaotian's earlier behavior.

Hu Xiaotian chuckled.

Jian Rongxin picked up a large bowl and filled it for him.

Hu Xiaotian didn't stand on ceremony; he lifted the large bowl and drained it in one gulp. The hot wine went down, warming his whole body most pleasantly.

Jian Rongxin said, "If I'd known getting drunk would feel this awful, I wouldn't have fallen for your trick no matter what."

Hu Xiaotian said, "One drink dispels a thousand worries; drunk and asleep, you can temporarily forget many things."

"But once sober, the headache only gets worse, and the things that trouble you remain deeply etched in your memory." Jian Rongxin sighed softly and said, "The so-called 'one drink dispels a thousand worries' is nothing but self-deception; I finally understand why some people keep getting drunk—they just want to keep numbing themselves." Her clear watery eyes looked at Hu Xiaotian as she asked, "If that's the case, what's the difference between being alive and being dead?"

The wine in the pot was only enough to fill one bowl; Hu Xiaotian wanted more, but there was none left.

Jian Rongxin asked, "Did I speak nonsense yesterday?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "How could you spout nonsense when you don't even have the surname Hu?"

Jian Rongxin's pretty face flushed, and she fell silent.

Hu Xiaotian realized that his offhand remark might again be taken as teasing, so he hurriedly explained, "You didn't say anything; you just vomited all over me when you were drunk."

Jian Rongxin's face turned red; she had never been so undignified before, especially in front of a man. She bit her cherry lips and said, "Sorry!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "It should be me who says sorry; I thought I could help you relieve your worries, but instead I made you feel so awful."

Jian Rongxin shook her head and said, "There's nothing to be sad about; I've already lost everything, so why bother clinging to the little dignity that remains?" Although she no longer remembered, she believed that in front of Hu Xiaotian she must have made a drunken spectacle of herself, and thinking of it made her feel ashamed.

Hu Xiaotian sensed she still dwelled on the drunkenness matter and smiled, "Actually you didn't reveal any secrets; you only spoke of how your father, Grand Secretary Jian, possessed outstanding talent and was peerless in calligraphy and painting." In fact Hu Xiaotian was just saying this based on what he knew, merely to ease Jian Rongxin's embarrassment.

Jian Rongxin nodded, though half‑believing, half‑doubting; hearing Hu Xiaotian say this made her feel a bit better, and she whispered, "What else did I say?" Thinking of her deceased father, she inevitably felt a pang of sorrow.

Hu Xiaotian said, "It's nothing; I just meant that your marriage wasn't your own idea but entirely obeyed your father's orders, and you don't have deep feelings for him." This was entirely Hu Xiaotian's fabrication.

Jian Rongxin's pretty face flushed crimson; she secretly felt relieved that she hadn't revealed the secret between her and her husband, for if Hu Xiaotian learned that she and Li Chen Zhou were merely a nominal couple, she would die of embarrassment.

Seeing Jian Rongxin's emotions remain calm, Hu Xiaotian also felt glad for her; as the saying goes, 'nothing is worse than a dead heart.' Perhaps seeing Li Chen Zhou and Xue Lingjun's affection had completely severed her feelings for him, and if her drunken words were true, then her affection for Li Chen Zhou was merely a pretense in front of others.

Hu Xiaotian added, "I've heard that Miss Jian is also peerless in calligraphy and painting; if I get the chance, I'd certainly like to ask for your guidance."

Jian Rongxin suddenly recalled something: "Oh dear, I forgot!"

Hu Xiaotian asked, "What matter?"

Jian Rongxin said, "Yesterday I went to East Forest Academy in a daze, feeling that I'd left something undone, but for a moment I couldn't recall what; thanks to you, I now remember." She rose and said, "I need to go back there."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "What matter is so important?"

Jian Rongxin said, "My father once said he had buried a jar of daughter's red under the Chinese arborvitae; when I married I should have dug it up, but he forgot. He said that if one day he departed this world, I should take out that jar of wine and pour it on his grave."

Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that if it were just a jar of wine it wouldn't seem very important, but for him it was one thing and for Jian Rongxin another—after all, it was her father's dying wish, and as a child she must fulfill it no matter what.

Jian Rongxin replied, "My father specifically entrusted me with this matter; it's so important, yet I forgot it."

Hu Xiaotian said, "You don't need to handle this yourself; I'll go."

Jian Rongxin exclaimed in surprise, "You?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Naturally it's me; do you really want to swagger into East Forest Academy and dig up that jar of daughter's red? One must go in unseen and unheard, secretly digging out the wine." He spoke and acted; standing up, he said, "I'll go and come back soon—just wait here patiently. At most an hour, I'll bring that jar of daughter's red back for you."

Seeing that he was about to set off, Jian Rongxin felt a surge of gratitude; it was rare that someone valued her words so much. She said softly, "Actually there's no need to rush; doing it in a few days would be fine too."

Hu Xiaotian said, "After all, it's your father's wish; if I don't help you fulfill it, you'll probably find it hard to be at peace."

Jian Rongxin whispered, "Then… be careful."

Hu Xiaotian slipped out under cover of night, stepped outside, and saw many pedestrians on the street. With Yongdu's situation calming, the city's martial law had been lifted; these past two days people had resumed normal activities, for the New Year was approaching and the common folk were busy visiting relatives and buying New Year goods. Hu Xiaotian secretly thought that it looked like he would be spending the year in Yongdu.

Arriving outside East Forest Academy, he walked around the wall, found a secluded spot, tapped his toes and leapt up with a swish, clearing the wall like a falling leaf and landing lightly inside the academy. Hu Xiaotian's memory was astonishing; he went straight to the courtyard where Jian Rongxin had brought him the day before and located the Chinese arborvitae.

The courtyard was empty and open. Hu Xiaotian took out an iron shovel and began digging. In the deep winter of the twelfth month, the ground was frozen solid, and he expended considerable effort. He couldn't help thinking of Liang Yinghao; if that expert at digging pits and tunnels were here, he would surely save much labor. Then he thought of the Ghost Doctor Fuluo: the secret passage to the Imperial Mausoleum was carved into the mountain body, winding through the rock for ten li, yet he wondered what tool Fuluo used to bore such a passage in a short time, or whether he had an expert aide.

While Hu Xiaotian was lost in thought, his iron shovel suddenly struck something hard, emitting a piercing squeak that startled him into sticking out his tongue—after all, a thief's conscience makes him jumpy, and the sound seemed especially shrill in the quiet night. He went to the courtyard gate and looked outside for a while, confirming that the old gatekeeper hadn't been alarmed, then returned to the spot. By now he had dug a hole three feet deep under the Chinese arborvitae, and his last thrust had struck the ceramic jar. Worried that damaging the jar would ruin his effort, he dug a ring around it, shook the jar loose from the surrounding soil, and then lifted it up.

Hu Xiaotian held the jar and felt it was light; shaking it, he sensed there was some liquid inside but not much. By moonlight he saw the jar was well sealed—unexpectedly, the wine inside had mostly evaporated. He didn't dwell on it, used dirt to refill the hole he'd made, tamped it down, and tried to restore the original state, then carried the jar back along the same route.

Jian Rongxin had been anxiously waiting; seeing Hu Xiaotian return within the promised time, she greeted him happily: "You're back?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, placed the freshly unearthed jar on the table before Jian Rongxin, and smiled, "I brought this jar of wine back intact, but it seems there isn't much left inside."

Jian Rongxin lifted the jar, gave it a shake, and also expressed surprise: "There doesn't seem to be much left inside."

Hu Xiaotian suggested, "Why not open it and see?"

Jian Rongxin grunted assent; Hu Xiaotian used a dagger to scrape away the wax seal, pulled out the wooden stopper, and a pungent odor escaped—Hu Xiaotian frowned; this smell was certainly not that of wine.

Jian Rongxin also furrowed her brows: "What smell? So strange."

Hu Xiaotian leaned over the jar's mouth and peered inside, saying, "Looks like there's something in there!"

Jian Rongxin found a copper basin and had Hu Xiaotian pour out the contents; he carefully tipped out the liquid, and a roll of leather‑like material fell out, along with a wax pellet.

Hu Xiaotian picked up the piece of leather, held it in his hand, and his heart began to pound; it was clearly a piece of human skin. He couldn't help thinking of the mysterious disappearance of the back skin of Emperor Jingde and Empress Dowager Jiang in the Imperial Mausoleum; judging from the time this jar of daughter's red had been buried, he could preliminarily rule out Empress Dowager Jiang.

Hu Xiaotian examined it closely by the lamplight; this piece of skin, about a foot square, was undoubtedly human skin, and the liquid in the jar was certainly not daughter's red wine but a preservative, which is why the skin had remained intact and uncorrupted all these years.

"What?" Jian Rongxin asked. (To be continued~^~.)