Chapter 13 Standoff (Part 1)

The woman's voice was somewhat sharp and sarcastic, and she made no attempt to hide her disdain.

Qi Si's crying hadn't stopped when she felt a hand tug at her braid, and then a hand with red nail polish pinched her face without hesitation, pulling her off her knees.

She was a woman dressed in a pale yellow dress and a long coat, followed by a group of guards who seemed terrified of death. The woman's appearance was not beautiful, far inferior to the alluring women she had encountered when she passed by the Love and Red Mansion many times.

But... if they weren't from Qinghonglou, where else in this city could you find someone so clean and respectable? Qi Si stopped crying and warily looked up at the woman. She bared her teeth fiercely, letting out whimpers like a wild beast driving away an enemy that had entered its territory.

The woman squatted down, disgustedly wiped the dust off her face, and without saying a word, grabbed Qi Si's hand and started to leave.

"Come on, come with me. It's filthy... Yicheng hasn't improved at all over the years, it's even worse than Wucheng. This mountain should just be renamed Dead Man's Mountain... Ouch!"

The woman let out a scream. Qi Si bit down hard on the woman's fair, round hand, without pulling back at all, tearing through her flesh. Blood flowed into her mouth, and she tasted the strong, sweet, metallic flavor.

The guards behind him straightened up, drew their swords in unison, and approached Qi Si.

"Put down your knives, why bother arguing with a child?"

The woman grimaced and pressed down with two fingers, causing the guards, who were like startled birds, to look at each other in bewilderment.

"You demon, no, I won't go with you! You're a... demon from the Love Red Pavilion! Waaah..."

The chess player sobbed and wouldn't utter a word. The woman leaned over and listened for a long time before she could understand him.

She felt that the Dream of the Red Chamber was more terrifying than the underworld; once you went in, you could never come out. And even if you did come out, you would no longer be the same person.

"Give in! Give in! I, Huang Qindong, am not some demon from the Qinghonglou! Jiang Jinmeng, have you heard of Jiang Jinmeng? Healers and save lives! Give in, give in..."

Huang Qindong? Jiang Jinmeng?

Qi Si was taken aback; she had never heard of such things before. She looked at the woman with a puzzled expression, then slowly loosened her teeth.

"Come on, do some work for me. I'll give you food."

Huang Qindong pulled her down the mountain. Qi Si couldn't keep up and was dragged along, tumbling and crawling. But the woman's hands were warm, and she said she would give her food. Qi Si couldn't bear to let go.

She stayed there, somewhat haphazardly, in that place filled with the smell of medicine.

She wasn't the only one there; there were many children like her in the backyard of the clinic. Huang Qindong brought children back to the clinic every day, just like picking up cats and dogs.

Live or dead, I pick them all up.

She was like a living Buddha, a living Bodhisattva, distributing porridge every day under Jiang Jinmeng's name. People would kneel down and kowtow to her, weeping.

Huang Qindong was so frightened he almost jumped up. He waved his hand and quickly told them to leave, saying, "Don't kneel before me, don't kneel before me. This is what our leader said. I even think it's a waste of money."

"Why are you picking this up? She's about to fall asleep. That's how Liu Liu is; she falls asleep very quickly."

The chess master asked Huang Qindong to pick out a piece that produced a lot of sound but little breath today, and asked curiously.

Unlike the other timid children, she clung to Huang Qindong all day long, never getting angry even when he scolded her, knowing that Huang Qindong was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.

Since being brought back to Jiangjin Medical Clinic, she has never gone hungry again, nor has she suffered from frostbite on her hands and feet in winter.

"Get out here and see what's written on the sign. It's a clinic, don't you know what a clinic is? We have doctors here."

Huang Qindong rolled her eyes at her, but Qi Si, grinning, squatted down at Huang Qindong's feet like a white ball of fluff and hugged her leg. She laughed and said, "That's great! Then they can survive and won't end up like Liu Liu."

"Why do you always pick up children? Do you like children?" Chess asked again.

Huang Qindong fell silent for a moment, a rare occurrence. She tapped her chin with one finger and glanced around her eyes.

"Well... not really, but the leader likes to do this, so I guess I've learned it too."

"Alliance Leader? Is it... the leader of the Jiangjin Alliance?"

Qi Si looked up and nuzzled Huang Qindong's palm, which he then squeezed twice. She was very curious about this alliance leader or something; after all, if Lord Huang was such a good person, then the person she was following must also be very good.

"Yes, she's a good person, a wonderful person, a great doctor, and a great leader. She's also an eccentric person, having done things like this for many years without any benefit. I was saved by her."

"Is she like you, wanting nothing?"

"No, she wants me to forget my past, that's not good."

At that time, Qi Si couldn't understand what Huang Qindong's ambiguous gaze meant when he looked into the distance.

But as time went on, she noticed that Lord Huang seemed to run more than just a clinic. Some dark-skinned people dressed in night clothes would deliver secret letters to her, which she would then burn after reading. She didn't know what they were doing.

Whenever Huang Qindong passed by Xie's residence, she would stop and gaze intently at the tightly locked doors, as if in the coldest winter, everything withered and decaying, which made her somewhat afraid.

"Don't you like the Xie family? Although I don't like them either." Qi Si tugged at Huang Qindong's sleeve.

"I hate them to death."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, biting his tongue and the soft flesh of his cheek. A storm gathered in Huang Qindong's originally dark eyes, finally revealing his deep-seated hatred.

Qi Si was terrified by the hatred hidden in Huang Qindong's words, and he didn't recover until he returned to Jiang Jinmeng.

Hate...the Xie family?

So Lord Huang wanted revenge? And the enemy was the Xie family? Qi Si's mind worked quickly, and he immediately connected the dots regarding Huang Qin Dong's behavior.

Could she help her? For example... going a step further, wouldn't it be more convenient for her to become an inside agent at the Xie residence?

Time flies, and before she could even figure things out, it was time to say goodbye again.

Qi Si stood at the entrance of Jiang Jin Medical Hall once again, staring longingly at Huang Qindong's carriage, until the carriage became a swaying black dot on the ground before he lowered his head and went back into the house.

She was reluctant to part with him; it would probably be another year or two before they met again.

However, she can do many things, at least she can help Lord Huang.

...

*Smack*

Qi Si was dazed from the slap, spitting out some blood. But there was no remorse in her clear eyes as she stared straight at Huang Qindong.

When Qi Si was a child, he rarely ate a proper meal. He grew up to be a small and thin man, but it was clear that he had shed his childishness and was already a little adult.

"Who told you to do this! Who told you to do this! Chess Master, you've really grown some guts!"

Huang Qindong was furious, her vision blurred, and she saw the little girl she had taken in was now dressed in the Xie family's clothes and had become a disciple of the Flower Beauty Pavilion, with a flamboyant flower character tattooed on her chest. Huang Qindong was still enraged and raised her hand again, but hesitated to strike.

"This is a very good method. I have discussed it with them... No one was forced, Lord Huang. We are all doing this voluntarily."

She had already entered the Flower Beauty Pavilion. She was adept at reading people's expressions and charming them, and she had Xie Xiyuan completely bewitched, so he stayed at the Xie residence as a maid. But those who had conspired with her all went to the Love Red Pavilion, resolutely stepping into that place they had once deeply hated.

They weren't that imposing, though. Qi Si remembered that when they entered that man-eating building, their steps were light and their faces were smiling.

"You all hate Qinghonglou and Xie's residence, right? I even wanted to take you all with me this time I came back, even though I had already discussed it with the Alliance Leader. I told you you're smart, you'll definitely be able to..."

"Yeah, the child will definitely grow up to be upright and honest with Dihuang Bei. Xiao Bei is that kind of stubborn person. Let's bring them all back. Jiang Jinmeng can afford to raise them." Bian Yi leaned against a newly sprouted branch, listening to Huang Qindong's report below. He took a bite of a pear and agreed.

Huang Qindong trembled with anger at Qi Si's unrepentant appearance. The last few words stuck in his throat, and before he could say them, tears streamed down his face.

But what made her feel even more desperate was that, upon closer examination, she realized that Chess's plan was feasible, and that she had at least an 80-90% chance of success.

She wanted to agree.

“But didn’t you want revenge? Saving us and keeping us here for three years is enough. Don’t feel burdened.”

The chess master noticed Huang Qindong's wavering, and she smiled sincerely. Like a little girl, she stepped forward and tugged at Huang Qindong's little finger, as if she weren't going to a death game, but rather to have some fun at the Xie residence.

A long, long silence followed. Chess Master remained unhurried, simply holding the hand, his expression relaxed. Huang Qindong heard his own response, faint as dust, falling into the morning sunlight.

"……good."

...

From then on, Qi Si and the children scattered like dandelions, integrating into the Xie residence and the Qinghonglou to collect information, figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of all parties in the Huaronglou, and gradually figuring out a complete plan.

Through notes exchanged between Huang Qindong and Xie, who kept smuggled medicine at Jiangjin Medical Clinic, it became clear that the Xie residence and Qinghonglou had a high demand for medicine and frequently sent people out to purchase it. This greatly facilitated their communication.

Huang Qindong also avoided doing business directly with Hua Ronglou, in order to give them the opportunity to communicate with each other.

Everything was ready, and all that was left was for Huang Qindong to arrive. The ceremony would begin with Xie Xiyuan's personal maid, Qi Si, casting the tenth-ranked "Soft Bone Shaving Poison" spell from the "Five Poisons Yama's Decree" at the Xie residence.

At the moment the poison takes effect, Huang Qindong will lead his assassins to light a cluster of dark red smoke at the west gate of the mansion. Upon seeing this, the spies in the Qinghonglou will simultaneously light pre-prepared candles or other fires—anything that burns brightly. Qi Si didn't give them any further instructions; they were capable of handling this matter.

That fire will take everything away, whether they are disciples or guests of Hua Rong Lou. And those arsonists—death without witnesses is the best outcome.

The chess master will also take poison and leave a suicide note to take all the blame upon himself, so that even if the authorities investigate, it will be nothing more than a maid who wanted revenge and committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

This plan began in the sixteenth year of the Yongjing reign, was planned for six years, and is now finally coming to an end.

Chess Master was already sobbing uncontrollably, his voice trembling.

"She said, after you've done those things, you should leave. Set the fire and run. Don't poison yourselves. Just escape. There are Jiang Jinmeng's assassins waiting for you outside the city. They're the ones with the character 'Jiang' tattooed on their chests. Go with them."

Chess Master bent down, his forehead slamming heavily against the ground.

Thump, thump, thump.

The three crisp sounds seemed to strike Lin Chengye's heart deeply, causing him such despair, sorrow, and pain.

"If we don't die, then Lord Huang will surely perish. Please, I beg you, can you stop her? Please..."