Chapter 56 Friends

The young man who came to visit the patient was named Qin Wenyuan, and was a good friend of the prince of Pingjiahou.

Being able to be on good terms with the Prince of Pingjiahou, his identity is not simple. He is the nephew of Qin Yunchuan, the Prince's Junior Tutor.

"Jincai, what exactly happened that day?" Qin Wenyuan asked the question in his mind.

When he first heard about this, he didn't believe it at all.

Jincai is also a cautious person, how could he run out into the street naked?

But it happened.

The Prince of Pingjia showed his anger: "I have been plotted against."

"Being plotted against?"

"That day, everyone was out watching the parade of the top scholar, so the study was completely deserted. I was with Hanfang when suddenly there was a loud noise, mixed with flames. In our panic, we ran to the wrong place and rushed straight out the main gate. It was too late to go back..."

The Prince of Pingjia grew increasingly furious as he spoke. "There's never been any firecrackers stored in my study. Someone must have deliberately embarrassed me by choosing that moment to strike!"

Qin Wenyuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Jincai, do you know who is plotting against you?"

The Prince of Pingjia slowly shook his head: "I can't think of who would harm me at the moment. But this thing must be aimed at me, not Hanfang."

The Prince of Pingjia felt a little uncomfortable when he thought of Miao Hanfang, the owner of the study.

After something like this happened, Hanfang's parents would definitely not let her off easily, but unfortunately the novelty of it hadn't worn off yet.

"Hanfang has good relationships with everyone around him. Besides, even if he offended someone, there's no need for them to drag me into it if they want to take revenge on a small study owner. But if you ask me who I have a grudge against, I can't think of anyone. I haven't been any different from usual lately—"

The Prince of Pingjia suddenly paused, his expression changing.

"Jincai, what did you think of?"

The Prince of Pingjia looked at his friend with a heavy look in his eyes: "If there is one thing that is different from usual, it is that I just got engaged."

Qin Wenyuan's expression changed slightly: "Jincai, are you saying...it was the Huai'an Earl's Mansion that plotted against you?"

The Prince of Pingjia said nothing.

Qin Wenyuan frowned and shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. A woman who's engaged is already considered part of her husband's family. If the engagement is cancelled, the consequences will be enormous. If the Huai'an Marquis's Mansion is dissatisfied with you, why bother getting married?"

"Maybe he found out about me?"

Qin Wenyuan was stunned by the question.

The Prince of Pingjia began to cough violently, until tears came to his eyes. He said with red eyes, "Now that the marriage is over and I'm in this state, there's no point in saying this. Wenyuan, don't come here again. If others find out, it will implicate you."

"Jincai, don't say that."

The Prince of Pingjia closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Seeing his friend's disheartened look, Qin Wenyuan was extremely worried, but no matter what he said, the Prince of Pingjia Marquis remained silent.

Just two days after Qin Wenyuan left the Pingjia Marquis's Mansion, news spread that the Pingjia Marquis's son had died.

When he received the news, Qin Wenyuan was playing the piano facing a clump of banana trees outside the window.

The string suddenly broke and cut my finger.

"Marquis Pingjia's son... is gone?"

The servant who came to report did not dare to look at the pale face and answered with his head lowered.

Qin Wenyuan staggered, and his hand pressed on the instrument, making a harsh noise.

"Young master, are you okay?" The servant hurried forward and supported him.

Qin Wenyuan pushed the servant away and strode out.

"Sir, where are you going?" the servant asked.

Qin Wenyuan acted as if he didn't hear anything and walked faster and faster, almost bumping into someone head-on.

The man had a square face and a serious temperament. He was Qin Yunchuan, the Prince's Junior Tutor.

"Second uncle." Qin Wenyuan stopped.

"Wenyuan, where are you going?"

"I...I'm going out for a walk." Qin Wenyuan looked away and didn't look at Qin Yunchuan.

Qin Yunchuan frowned: "You want to go to Pingjiahou Mansion?"

Qin Wenyuan's voice choked with sobs. "Second Uncle, Jincai and I have been friends since childhood. That year, my father passed away. I was hiding and crying alone when I accidentally fell into a collapsed pit. It was Jincai who found me and had someone rescue me. Now that he's dead, how could I not see him off?"

Qin Yunchuan listened quietly to his nephew's words and sighed, "Since you've mentioned your father, I can't let you go. When your father passed away, you were the one he was most worried about, and he told me to raise you to be a talent. People tend to speculate, and what happened to the Marquis of Pingjia was witnessed by many people. Given your age and appearance, if you go to his coffin and cry bitterly, rumors will swirl within the next day."

At this point, Qin Yunchuan patted his nephew on the shoulder and said, "Wenyuan, if you want to achieve something in the future, you must not be involved in such rumors. Keep your friendship with the Prince of Pingjia in your heart."

"Second Uncle—" Qin Wenyuan murmured, looking at Qin Yunchuan's departing back with tears in his eyes.

After two days of grief, Qin Wenyuan called his servant and said, "Go and find out if there were any special people hanging around Pinfangzhai on the day of the top scholar's parade and some time before that."

The servant inquired for two or three days but found nothing.

Qin Wenyuan was unwilling to give up, so he walked out of the house for the first time since the death of the Prince of Pingjia and went to that street.

The street was still bustling, but the door of the study with the sign "Pinfangzhai" was closed, looking desolate and cold.

Qin Wenyuan stood on the street, staring at the door of the study for a while, then looked around.

A teahouse came into view.

It was a two-story teahouse that looked unremarkable. The only thing that caught Qin Wenyuan's attention was an elegant room on the second floor facing the street, with a window facing the study door.

If I were there, I would be able to see clearly what happened at the door of the study.

Qin Wenyuan suddenly had this thought in his mind and walked towards the teahouse.

"Sir, please come in. Are you alone?" the waiter in the teahouse greeted warmly.

"I'm alone. Is the elegant room on the second floor still empty?"

"You've come at the right time, there's still one room available."

The waiter led me upstairs, but it was not the elegant room I was going into.

Qin Wenyuan stopped in the corridor and pointed there: "Is this elegant room occupied?"

"I'm sorry, sir, there are several guests drinking tea inside."

Qin Wenyuan walked into the empty elegant room and took the opportunity while the waiter was pouring tea to ask, "It was quite lively here on the day of the top scholar's parade, wasn't it?"

The guy was delighted when he heard this, even beaming with joy: "Of course not. I thought I'd be so bored that day that I'd fall asleep, but I didn't expect to see such a big event."

"I think the elegant room next door is the most convenient for watching the excitement." Qin Wenyuan said calmly.

The waiter smiled and nodded, "You're right, sir. The window of that elegant room faces the main door of the study. If you sit by the window, you can drink tea and watch the fun."

"Who was so lucky that day that he was drinking tea next door?"

This question startled the guy and stopped talking.

Qin Wenyuan pushed a piece of silver over.

The clerk's eyes lit up, and he quickly put the silver away, saying with a smile, "Then you've asked the right person, sir. I happen to remember him."

"Who is it?"

"It's a girl, and she's a human being just like you."