Chapter 16: Paying Back the Debt of Love Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t ask, especially small ones…

The night wind blew, lifting the girl's clothes.

The first lesson in the court - don’t ask things that you shouldn’t ask, especially things related to Prince Rong An!

Lord Deng then put away his stunned expression, bowed his head once more, and then stood up straight, his hands clasped behind his back, a smile on his face. "Madam Luo, please follow me. My daughter is resting in her room right now. I will have someone call her over right away."

"No need to trouble you, Master Deng. I have something I'd like to talk to Madam Deng about alone. Could you please take me to the tea room?"

Luo Qingling followed Lord Deng up the stairs and into the mansion. After all, this matter was related to Jia Ci, and Deng Yesi certainly didn't want anyone to hear it. She decided to find a quiet place to talk to Deng Yesi, and the tea room was a perfect place.

The two of them stepped over the threshold and walked under the corridor. Perhaps it was because Luo Qingling came in Qin Yanheng's carriage. Even if he didn't say it, Lord Deng knew very well what Prince Rong'an's action meant. Wasn't it tacitly approving Madam Luo to interfere in the investigation?

Everyone knows that His Highness has been searching for the true culprit behind Du Zhuangyuan's murder lately, and tonight he suddenly brought Lady Luo to our house, his purpose obvious. Since His Highness wants to investigate the Deng Mansion, let him do it thoroughly. After all, this matter has nothing to do with his family. I just don't know why His Highness would let this Lady Luo from the borderlands do it for him.

Walking through the corridor, a magnolia branch emerged from an archway, suddenly appearing before their eyes. The two of them passed through the archway, one in front and one behind. Not far away, Deng Yesi, draped in a white crane cloak, stood beneath the tree. Seeing Luo Qingling, her gloomy expression suddenly brightened.

"Qingqing, come with me quickly. I've been waiting for you for a long time." Deng Yesi came forward, shook Luo Qingling's hands warmly, and led her into the house without asking any questions. Then he paused at the door and turned to Lord Deng and said, "Father, let me have a chat with Madam Luo."

Deng Yesi and Lord Deng had a bad relationship, Luo Qingling knew it, but she didn't expect their relationship to reach such a point that Deng Yesi couldn't even say "Aye" and could only coldly call Lord Deng "father".

Qing Ling secretly glanced at Deng Yesi and felt a little uncomfortable. It seemed that it was no wonder that Deng Yesi believed Jia Ci's words. After all, who doesn't want to be cared for?

"Don't be so polite, my dear. Come and have some refreshments." Deng Yesi had already ordered two cups of tea to be poured. She walked around the table and handed the refreshments to Luo Qingling, unable to conceal her joy. "You must be hungry after a busy day. Have some tea first."

Luo Qingling took the teacup and took a sip, then raised her eyes and smiled gently: "Ye Si also knows what I am going to say?" Deng Yesi is not stupid, she can definitely see that she is not just here to talk to her. After the previous monster incident, the two of them have already become familiar with each other. Luo Qingling understands that Deng Yesi doesn't like to lay the groundwork for too long, so she simply goes straight to the point.

"Madam Luo, do you want to ask me about Jia Lang?"

Deng Yesi sat across the table with hot tea in her hands. She glanced at Luo Qingling, tilted her head to lift the strands of hair that had fallen by her ears, and spoke to herself with a calm expression. The obsession of the past few days was no longer in her eyes, as if she was talking about something that had nothing to do with her.

"Actually, Jia Lang disappeared inexplicably after the results were announced. He didn't even show up on the day we had agreed to meet. Then, he suddenly sent a message asking me to meet him at Xiangshan Temple on the night of the Qujiang Banquet. I already had a feeling something was amiss, but I still chose to trust Jia Lang. He wouldn't harm me," Deng Yesi said with a hint of a smile on his face, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes. "But after learning of Du Zhuangyuan's death, I always felt that Jia Lang was hiding something from me."

At this point, Deng Yesi suddenly looked up and looked at Luo Qingling with a firm look in his eyes: "But Madam Luo, I believe Jia Lang. He is not that kind of person. He will not hurt anyone... After all, he has an unborn child. How could Jia Lang be willing to abandon us, mother and child?"

Deng Yesi's voice rose and fell. Just when Luo Qingling thought she was going to defend Jia Ci, she continued, "Qingqing...but even so, I can't prove Jia Lang's innocence."

She stood up and slowly walked to the window. Luo Qingling hurried after her, a little worried. Deng Yesi pointed to a tree on the roadside outside the high wall not far away. Then her fingers groped for a hole in the window sill that someone had dug. She said, "Jia Lang throws the other end of the horse rope up every night. I tie it to the edge of the window sill, and Jia Lang climbs up along the rope to meet me."

"I know that Du Zhuangyuan was strangled to death. My father was there when the coroner came."

Luo Qingling didn't know how to respond. Deng Yesi looked unusually calm before her. She turned around and leaned against the window, continuing, "Perhaps Lady Luo would laugh at me. A noblewoman secretly meeting with a powerless scholar from a humble family must be a dissolute person."

"I've never thought about it that way—" Luo Qingling hurriedly explained, but was interrupted by Deng Yesi again.

"Madam Luo knows that my relationship with my father is not good. I have never received love since I was a child. It was Jia Lang's appearance that made me understand what love is. If he hadn't been by my side these past few months, I'm afraid I wouldn't be alive today. Even though my father doesn't allow me to be with Jia Lang, he is the father of my unborn child after all..."

Deng Yesi touched her abdomen and found that the child was no longer there.

"I don't want him to have a murderer as his father," Deng Yesi looked at her, tears welling in her eyes. "So, I beg Madam Luo to clear Jia Lang's name. I am willing to cooperate."

The night wind picked up, rustling the trees along the street. Over there, a flag with the Chinese character "Qin" fluttered in the wind. A pair of slender hands lifted the curtain of a carriage from the inside. A young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes looked across the red wall to meet the red-dressed girl by the window.

*

Two days later, it was night.

Today is an even-numbered day, and it is also the day Deng Yesi and Jia Lang usually agree to meet. She dressed up early and closed the stained glass windows in the room, leaving only the window facing the big tree on the street half open.

There was only one red candle in the room, its light flickering faintly. She sat by the window, slowly combing her hair, as usual. This was her and Jia Lang's "secret code" - the night of the double date, the beautiful shadows through the flower-shaped window, was a good time.

Outside the red wall, a dark figure appeared from nowhere beneath a street tree. He was dressed in night clothes, his black hat completely obscuring his features, leaving only a pair of messy eyebrows, scraggly brows, and cloudy eyes. He glanced up at the lighted wing opposite, his fingers occasionally stroking the reins, but he remained silent.

In the room, Deng Yesi had already lit incense, and the whole room was filled with a strong aroma. She felt weak all over. Usually by this time, Jia Lang would have been impatient, so why was there no sound tonight?

She slowed down her movements and looked behind the wooden door, where the turquoise skirt and the black and gold brocade robe were intertwined - it was Madam Luo and Prince Rong An, who were standing behind the half-open wooden door.

Seeing Deng Yesi's hesitation, Luo Qingling was about to reach out to say something to her, but was pulled back by Qin Yanheng, who was standing behind her. She quickly turned around to glance at the man, her eyes full of confusion.

Why did you come with me? Luo Qingling's red lips opened and closed, but there was no sound.

"Why can't I come over?" Qin Yanheng replied, imitating her. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall, looking down at Luo Qingling and raising an eyebrow.

"Prince Rong An has trespassed into someone else's bedroom..."

Midway through his speech, a piece of talisman suddenly stuck to his mouth. Angrily, Luo Qingling raised his hand to tear it off and slammed it onto Qin Yanheng's arm, turning away and ignoring him. A low laugh could be heard behind him, but Luo Qingling didn't bother to pay attention to him, his eyes fixed on the window.

A few hours ago, everyone was making plans for tonight, waiting for Jia Ci to be caught, but Qin Yanheng was not willing to wait outside and insisted on following her into Deng's house, saying something like "It's not good for a young lady like you to wait outside alone on someone else's wedding night", and then he shamelessly hid behind the door with her.

Well, Qin Yanheng was right. If anything went wrong, she had to ensure Deng Yesi's safety.

Just when everyone thought that Jia Ci would not show up, they heard birds singing outside the window, which was particularly clear in the deep winter night.

Deng Yesi didn't dare to make any other moves, for fear that Jia Lang would notice something was wrong. She stood up, opened the stained glass window and looked down. She saw a familiar figure under the big tree. Even though his face was covered, she could tell at a glance that it was Jia Lang.

The two looked at each other from afar under the cover of night. Deng Yesi looked at the pair of eyes that she had been thinking about day and night, and tears welled up in her eyes without her knowing when. She leaned forward slightly, wanting to see Jia Lang clearly, or perhaps wanting Jia Lang to see her reluctance at the moment.

"Jia Lang..."

Deng Yesi wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, opened her mouth towards Jia Lang, then turned around and sobbed softly, leaving Jia Ci with a back view of trembling shoulders, which made people feel extremely distressed.

Little did she know that the moment Deng Yesi turned around, she glanced up at Luo Qingling and the other man hiding behind the wooden door. She nodded slightly, indicating that they must hide well and leave everything to her.

“Pah.”

One end of the horse rope fell on the windowsill, and bursts of bird calls were heard again in the dark night. At this moment, everyone finally realized that this was not the sound of birds, but the sound made by Jia Ci, who was standing under the tree. Presumably, the two of them had used this secret code to convey information before.

Deng Yesi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at Jia Ci, who was standing under the tree. Her face was filled with joy, and it didn't look like she was pretending. She quickly pulled the horse rope and tied it to the hole in the window sill, then nodded to Jia Ci.

After a while, Jia Ci climbed up to Deng Yesi's room along the horse rope. The two who had not seen each other for half a month hugged each other tightly for a long time.

"Jia Lang..." Deng Yesi hugged Jia Ci's neck with both hands, buried his head in his chest, and said softly, "Where have you been for the past half month? Why didn't you come to see me?"

Jia Ci didn't say anything, he just focused on taking off Deng Yesi's gauze dress. He leaned close to her chest and carried her to the bed.

"Jia Lang! I... I'm not feeling well. Besides, our child—" Deng Yesi slapped Jia Ci's arm repeatedly, but couldn't stop him. At this moment, her heart completely sank to the bottom.

Jia Ci… didn't even care about her miscarriage. His mind was full of that matter! She had misjudged him. He was not worthy of being the father of her child.

Deng Yesi kept struggling, but Jia Ci's hands were so strong that he twisted her arms so that she couldn't move at all. She closed her eyes and screamed.

A golden light flashed, and Jia Ci was instantly pushed to the corner of the wall by a force. He covered his abdomen and groaned in pain, then raised his head to look at the young man with his back to the light. The latter's face could not be seen clearly, and he was slowly walking towards him.