Chapter 35 Jade Pendant "Seventh Brother? When did you start calling him Seventh Brother...?"

"It's so convenient! There's nothing inconvenient about it!"

Cui Ying suddenly looked up in Xiao Qiyu's arms and called out repeatedly, but unexpectedly, the curve of her head bumped right into Xiao Qiyu's chin.

Xiao Qiyu, his forehead beaded with sweat from the pain, hissed through the cold air, "Cui Ying, my tongue almost broke off."

Cui Ying frantically pried his hands off her waist, almost jumping out of his embrace. Her cheeks flushed, and she tried to remain calm as she asked Xiao Heng, "Third Brother, have you eaten yet? The noodles in the pot should still be warm. Would you like me to get you a bowl?"

Xiao Heng's gaze remained fixed on the doorway, and he couldn't help but chuckle: "No need, I already ate at Jingsong Hall on the way here."

Cui Ying: "I see. You two chat, I'll go out first."

She had barely taken a step when Xiao Qiyu grabbed her wrist.

Xiao Qiyu's forehead was still damp with sweat from the impact, his brows furrowed, and he impatiently reminded her, "Watch the ground."

In their frantic efforts, the bowl could not be saved and now lay shattered on the ground, shards of porcelain scattered everywhere.

Cui Ying pulled her hand away from his and whispered, "I'm not blind!"

She carefully avoided the shards, gave Xiao Heng a hurried curtsy as she passed, blushed, and ran out quickly, making sure to close the door behind her.

Xiao Qiyu was about to get up to greet Xiao Heng, but the other party gestured for her to lie down.

Xiao Heng approached and placed a gourd-shaped bottle with a gold-painted enamel seal and a palace wax seal on the bedside table: "This is a regeneration powder from Goryeo. Applying it can help wounds heal faster. It was given to me by His Majesty when I was injured. Keep it for yourself."

Xiao Qiyu lowered his eyes: "Third brother, this is just a superficial injury. It will be fine in a couple of days."

Xiao Heng's tone left no room for argument: "It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. It's not that easy. You won't even accept this little bit of stuff, and you're still blaming me?"

Xiao Qiyu immediately looked up, her eyes urgent: "I didn't."

Xiao Heng's eyes held a hint of a smile: "Yesterday, my grandmother called me over and gave me a good scolding. She said I've grown too big for my britches and that instead of setting rules for outsiders, I'm using the lives of my own children. She also said that if anything happens to me, she will never forgive me."

Xiao Qiyu's expression was solemn: "This matter was originally my fault. As the city gate captain, I failed to supervise properly, which allowed Turkic spies to enter the capital and commit atrocities. Compared to those innocent people who died tragically, what is my little injury? Third brother, don't worry, I will explain to Grandmother."

Xiao Heng remained silent, his gaze fixed on the wound on Xiao Qiyu's back. The sunlight slanted down, and the outline of the pale shoulder blades could even be vaguely seen under the ointment. His eyes were slightly red, and his heartache was beyond words.

Xiao Qiyu noticed his expression and deliberately changed the subject: "Third Brother, have you found any useful clues on those Turks?"

Xiao Heng looked away, his expression turning serious: "We found a wolf head tattoo on his back."

"Wolf head?" Xiao Qiyu hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "If I remember correctly, isn't that a tattoo that only the personal guards of the Turkic king can have?"

The Turks believed that wolves were their ancestors. A mother wolf gave birth to ten cubs, which led to the ten Turkic surnames. As a result, the wolf totem became the exclusive totem of the Turkic nobility, and wolf head tattoos were a symbol of the Turkic king. Guards with wolf tattoos were also called "wolf guards" by the people of the Central Plains.

After hearing Xiao Qiyu's words, Xiao Heng nodded: "That's right, this person is undoubtedly a Wolf Guard."

Xiao Qiyu's eyes narrowed, and without hesitation, he said, "Then he must be a spy sent by the Turkic King!"

Xiao Heng shook his head at this moment: "His tattoos are too easy to spot. If he were a spy, this kind of person would not be an ideal candidate. Moreover, the coroner has already disemboweled the body. Apart from what he ate that day, there was nothing but grass roots and tree bark left in his stomach. His toes were also deformed from traveling too much. He doesn't seem like someone sent to be a spy at all. He seems more like—"

Xiao Heng pondered for a moment, then uttered two words: "Escape."

Xiao Qiyu: "Escape?"

Xiao Heng nodded and took out another jade pendant from his sleeve: "I found this on the sole of his shoe."

Xiao Qiyu looked at the jade pendant and saw that the jade was as black as ink, with lifelike carvings of a unicorn stepping on clouds.

“The carving of this pattern is clearly in the style of the Central Plains,” Xiao Qiyu murmured, feeling a strong sense of unease. Moreover, judging from the quality of this jade pendant, its owner must be either very wealthy or very powerful, and most likely an official.

Xiao Heng: "I suspect that he came to the capital to find the owner of this jade pendant."

A sudden thought struck Xiao Qiyu, and he blurted out, "There are people in the court who are colluding with the enemy and betraying the country."

Xiao Heng immediately gestured for him to be quiet, his gaze sharpening: "I discovered this jade pendant myself. Only you and I, brothers, have seen it. No third person knows of its existence. From now on, you must keep this a secret and not alert the enemy too early."

Xiao Qiyu nodded: "Third Brother, don't worry, I understand."

After speaking, Xiao Qiyu looked slightly worried: "But Third Brother, can we really not report such a big thing to our superiors?"

Xiao Heng put the jade pendant back into his sleeve: "Your Majesty is already troubled enough by Zhao Dongsheng's rebellion. There is currently no progress in this matter, and Your Majesty will only be more troubled if you find out. I will investigate privately, and if there is any progress, I will report it in time."

Xiao Qiyu nodded without speaking, and after a moment of silence said, "Thank you for your help, Third Brother. This is all my fault."

Xiao Heng said gently, "Alright, you don't need to blame yourself too much. It's important to get well first."

The two brothers spoke briefly about the case, and Xiao Heng instructed Xiao Qiyu to take his medicine on time every day before leaving.

As they parted, Xiao Qiyu couldn't help but ask, "Third Brother, will I be able to return to the Vermilion Bird Sect in the future?"

Xiao Heng stared at him intently for a moment, then said, "Take good care of your injuries. There's still a long road ahead."

Xiao Qiyu agreed and said, "Take care, Third Brother," but his eyes dimmed uncontrollably after Xiao Heng turned away.

...

After several days, Xiao Qiyu's injuries improved, but he still needed to rest in bed.

The imperial physician had said several times that it was best not to wear a shirt to avoid abrasions to the wound, but he always felt it was strange to be naked, and even stranger to be naked in the same room with Cui Ying. So he still wore an undergarment. Fortunately, the silk was breathable and soft, so it didn't have much of an impact on the wound.

On this day, the two sisters, Xiao Shu and Xiao Wan, agreed to visit each other at Qiyun Pavilion. Xiao Shu arrived first and started talking to Cui Ying.

But after entering the room, from the moment Xiao Shu sat down until the maid served tea, Cui Ying was constantly busy.

She kept a close eye on Xiao Qiyu. Whenever she saw his lips were slightly dry, she would immediately bring him water to drink. Whenever she saw him frown, she knew that his wound was itchy as it grew. Although he couldn't scratch it, fanning him with a fan was enough to relieve the itch.

Even when Xiao Qiyu was reading a military book and wanted to open the scroll, Cui Ying would shout, "Don't move! Let me do it!"

Xiao Shu looked at the two of them, her eyes shifting from confusion to utter horror as if she had seen a ghost.

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but he only has a back injury, not that he can't move his hands and feet. Why are you treating him like this?" Xiao Shu rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, and she couldn't even swallow her tea.

While fanning Xiao Qiyu's back with a fan, Cui Ying said matter-of-factly, "The imperial physician said that Qilang's back injury is too serious. In order to prevent the wound from being pulled, it is best not to make any movements, especially now that it is hot. If the wound ruptures and festers, it will be a big problem."

Xiao Shu's eyes widened to the size of walnuts: "My God, did I hear that right? Qi Lang? When did you start calling him Qi Lang? Didn't you always call him Xiao Qi Yu by his full name before?"

Cui Ying blinked her almond-shaped eyes and said, "Qilang saved my life, so isn't it only right that I treat him well? The most important thing in life is to be loyal."

Xiao Qiyu, who had been calm, suddenly twitched his brow as if stung by a bee when he heard the word "loyalty".

Just as Xiao Shu was about to speak again, she heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor. The three of them turned around and saw Xiao Wan walking in from outside, her eyes red, as if she had just finished crying.

Cui Ying noticed her unusual behavior, immediately put down his fan, stepped forward, took her hand, and asked, "What happened? Did someone upset you?"

Xiao Wan shook her head, forcing a smile: "It's nothing."

Xiao Shu sighed, "It's all because of that Miss Zhao. Xiao Liu and she got along well at the academy. They had even made plans to enjoy the moon together in the autumn. Now... sigh, let's not talk about it."

The Zhao family's two daughters, one went mad in the cold palace, the other was deeply involved in the brothel. The family's once rapid rise to power and unparalleled glory were as illusory as a pipe dream.

Xiao Wan couldn't hold back her tears and finally sobbed, "I know I'm powerless to help her, but how will she survive in a place like the brothel? I was worried before, so I ordered my servant to go out and find out every few days. I learned that when the wives and daughters of disgraced officials first enter the brothel, they have a half-month training period before they have to start working as prostitutes. Now the half-month period is approaching, and I'm anxious but helpless."

Xiao Shu and Zhao Er were not close, but after hearing what her cousin said, she was suddenly overcome with grief and her eyes reddened with sadness.

After pondering for a moment, Cui Ying said to the two of them, "Don't be sad. Crying won't help. Although I only met Zhao Er once, I feel heartbroken whenever I think about what will happen to her in the future. Yangyang, if you really want to help her, why don't we pool some money together and light some empty lamps for her and her mother for a few nights? Although it can't save them from their plight, it can at least postpone the time they have to entertain guests."

Xiao Wan and Xiao Shu exchanged a glance, then asked Cui Ying at the same time, "What is meant by 'lighting an empty lamp'?"

Cui Ying: "Lighting an empty lamp, to put it bluntly, is like keeping a girl. You pay her, but she doesn't show up, leaving her alone in an empty room. That's how it is in ordinary brothels. Whether the music academy has this rule, we'll have to send someone to inquire before we can find out."

On the couch, Xiao Qiyu silently put down the scroll, his gaze involuntarily falling on Cui Ying. He saw her hair loose and askew, with a fresh, dewy jade hairpin by her temple, and pomegranate-red gemstone earrings swaying beside her snow-white neck. The afternoon room was bright and clear, and even her hair seemed to glow.

"You really know a lot," Xiao Qiyu said indifferently.

Cui Ying turned her head and glared at him: "There's more to come. I thought you were like me, only knowing how to brandish knives and guns, and never having seen the world."

Xiao Qiyu had been carefully cared for by her these past few days and hadn't been rebuffed by her like this in a long time. In the past, he would have been too lazy to pay attention to such words, but now, hearing them, a strange sense of stagnation welled up in his heart, making him cough a few times.

Cui Ying's expression immediately softened, and she walked to his side with great concern: "Why are you coughing? Quickly drink some water to calm it down."

Xiao Wan, who was feeling sad, couldn't help but laugh through her tears when she saw this: "Serving the old ancestor is nothing more than this. Seventh Brother, you really married a good wife."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shu couldn't help but scrutinize Cui Ying more closely.

Cui Ying was born with a beautiful complexion that didn't need any makeup. Now, as she was busy, she was slightly sweating, which made her skin appear even more radiant and her face as delicate and beautiful as a pearl.

Xiao Shu then thought that Cui Ying's family background was also top-notch, and her temperament was more compatible with hers. They should be natural sisters. Not to mention marrying her cousin, even marrying her own brother would be perfectly acceptable.

Thinking of Qian Shi, who hadn't returned home for a long time, Xiao Shu felt a surge of annoyance and thought sourly to herself: It's a pity that such good fortune doesn't fall on my own brother.

...

Once Cui Ying decided to "light the empty lamps," she immediately began preparing for it.

First, he sent his trusted confidants out of the mansion to inquire about the news and confirmed that there was such a thing as a music academy. Then he and Xiao Wan pooled their money.

However, Xiao Wan usually only relied on the monthly allowance from the household and the pocket money given by her grandmother. As a young lady from a respectable family, how could she have much money? Even if she emptied her own pockets, she would only have eighty or ninety taels, which was far from the amount required to "light an empty lamp".

Without consulting her, Cui Ying took three hundred taels to make four hundred taels, and sent his trusted confidant in disguise to deliver it to the brothel. He then kept Zhao Er and his mother's lamps lit for half a month, and the matter came to an end.

The days passed quickly, and by mid-July, when the trumpet creeper climbing the wall was in full, fiery red bloom, Qian returned from her parents' home.

The next morning, a maid came to Bodhi Hall and invited Cui Ying over.

Knowing that he was definitely going to see Madam Qian, Cui Ying dressed up a little more formally and carefully styled his hair.

Xiao Qiyu sat behind his desk, his eyes fixed on the scrolls, but his peripheral vision fell on the hairpin swaying gently by Cui Ying's temple. He asked in a flat tone, "Going so early, aren't you sleepy?"

She stayed up reading a storybook until dawn last night before going to sleep.

Looking at her slightly haggard reflection in the mirror, Cui Ying yawned and said, "What's the use of being tired? It's because you have such a large family. This is nothing compared to what's to come. When your eldest uncle's family and your second uncle come back tomorrow, I'll be even more exhausted."

She took a sip of the chilled plum drink to refresh herself, and immediately felt much more alert.

Xiao Qiyu focused his phoenix eyes, watching her try to keep up a good spirit, and a certain string in his heart was imperceptibly stirred.

In the past, he felt that he would never be able to separate from the family in his life, and that he would serve his grandmother until his death. If anyone joked with him about separating the family, his face would be cold for several days.

Now I have a vague feeling that separating the family earlier wouldn't be so hard to accept.

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Author's Note: I'm here~ Adjusting my sleep schedule