Chapter 96 Qi-Liang Boundary (08) Always listen to me, remember that...

It was past midnight when they returned home. The whole family was still waiting. As soon as they heard the knock on the door, they rushed to the ceremonial gate. Yu Qing and Xiu Zhi each held a lantern and shone it on Jiu Li from head to toe, fearing that something might have happened to her outside.

Yu Qi flung her arm, shoving her into the courtyard. Jiu Li lost her balance and fell to the ground. Du Zhong and A Xiang rushed to help her up, but Yu Qi angrily shouted, "No one is allowed to help her!"

Everyone was too frightened to move, and then they heard him sneer, "Are you all afraid that something might happen to her! She herself isn't afraid at all, daring to run off to the countryside in the middle of the night with someone, and even wanting to follow them to the capital. Humph, she doesn't care about her own safety, so why are you all worrying about it! Go back to sleep!"

Everyone had no choice but to turn back every few steps and go back to their rooms to rest. The courtyard instantly became dark and oppressive, probably due to the intimidation of his age and status. Even though he hadn't beaten her severely, Jiu Li couldn't help but feel terrified. She could only cover her arm and get up by herself, hanging her head and watching his black robes flutter in the wind like a majestic flag. She didn't dare to move an inch.

Yu Qi suddenly grabbed the back of her collar and walked towards the Second Hospital. Du Zhong had never seen Yu Qi so angry before. He dared not persuade her or beg her, and could only follow behind and watch helplessly as Jiu Li staggered along, her toes barely touching the ground.

Just as Yu Qi was feeling worried for Jiu Li, he suddenly turned around and glared at him, "Why aren't you going to sleep? What are you doing following along? Do you want to get a beating too?"

He hurriedly turned around and went across the yard, swept into the house like a gust of wind, closed the door, and turned off the lights.

Immediately with a "bang," the door to the east wing was slammed shut by Yu Qi. Jiu Li stumbled and fell into the darkness. After a while, she adjusted to the darkness of the room. A sliver of moonlight slanted in through the window, and she saw Yu Qi's dark shadow approaching her.

At this point, she didn't care about the pain in her arm anymore; all she wanted to do was run away. He was really angry this time and might actually beat her up.

She dashed into the small study and hid behind the desk. "I was planning to ask someone from the post station to send you a letter first thing tomorrow morning! I'm not leaving without saying goodbye, I'm just afraid that if I told you first, you wouldn't allow me to go!"

Yu Qi moved closer to the side of the desk and asked, "What are you planning to do in the capital?"

"I want to go find my father. Xu Bai said my father might be the current emperor!"

He chuckled, his tone unreadable, a hint of mockery rather than anger or sorrow. Oh, so she wanted to find her biological father, the emperor, to become a princess, to live a life of wealth and luxury. What he gave her could never satisfy her.

Just like how he has been filial to his mother for more than ten years, she may not say it, but he knows that she always thinks of his older brother.

Jiuli waited a while, but seeing that he remained silent and seemed to be pondering something, she remembered how he used to get angry whenever her parents were mentioned. She figured he had misunderstood, so she quickly shook her head. "I didn't... I just wanted to—"

"What are you thinking? You've just grown up and want to leave me, so you're risking everything to selfishly run away with another man." His throat felt like it was filled with sand, his voice trembling and hoarse, and he felt an uncontrollable urge to grow hands and strangle her.

She repeatedly defended herself, saying, "Xu Bai is not a stranger. We've known each other for more than half a year and often work together on cases. Besides, he is a county magistrate who knows the law and abides by etiquette. He would never do anything despicable or shameless to me."

"Really? You know him so well?" Yu Qi's voice turned unusually deep, and it even sounded like he was laughing.

His smile at this moment was definitely not a good sign. Jiu Li thought of the slap Xu Bai had received and couldn't help but tremble. She lowered her voice even further and adopted an attitude of admitting her mistake, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't dare to go with them on my own."

Unexpectedly, these words only made Yu Qi more unlucky. From what she said, Xu Bai was a very trustworthy person in her heart. No matter how many times he had warned her before, she trusted Xu Bai so much that she ignored his words.

He was backlit by the moonlight through the window, his face indistinct, and his voice turned icy again, "From childhood to adulthood, have I never taught you not to trust others easily, and even more so, not to go with anyone to places I can't see?" He tilted his head slightly, "It seems I've taught you in vain."

Before Jiuli could argue, he reached out and pulled her close, saying, "How do I teach you to remember? Hmm?"

Only now did she see his face clearly. He seemed much more haggard after searching for her all night, his eyes bloodshot, as if something was about to burst forth from them. She saw her tiny, trembling reflection in his dark pupils, and gradually became incoherent, "I remember, I've always remembered."

“No,” he smiled, looking at her mouth, “only pain can teach you a lesson.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged at her, biting her lips and her neck.

Jiuli felt his breath, rough and hot, like a branding iron moving across her skin, making her heart leap into her throat and hold her breath.

She heard a "whoosh" sound, and the shelter was gone. A gust of wind brushed against her chest. She felt cold, but then a sharp pain appeared. She tried to look down and realized that she was leaning back, with the table against her back. It was very cool, but she only noticed it at that moment because her body was burning hot.

She had to strain to lift her head off the table to see his head buried in her heart. She felt unsafe, lost, panicked, and terrified. She wanted to pull him up, to hold her, to shield her from the darkness. She reached out haphazardly into the air, calling out "Uncle" over and over again.

He refused to hug her. He had indeed spoiled her too much in the past, granting her every wish, which made her arrogant and ignorant.

What does it matter how high the sky is or how thick the earth is? He just wanted her to know that she could not escape his sky, that he had saved her life, that he had raised her, and that he had forged her flesh and blood and her soul! He pulled her down, to the edge of the desk, and pressed closer to her, mercilessly sinking into her warm flesh and blood.

In the midst of the chaos, she frowned deeply. The moment she uttered a sound, he covered her mouth. In the still of the night, with everyone still awake, even a slight voice could be heard. The overcast blue sky outside the window grew even more blurred. The moon, like a gray speck, was imprinted on the window screen. Behind him, his figure was darker than the sky. The desk she leaned against resembled a vast ocean; she was adrift at sea, and he was the driftwood she could see but could never reach.

Tears stained his hands, and she didn't know that they also burned him with pain.

Her face was mostly obscured by his hand, making her brimming eyes appear exceptionally fragile and alluring. Gradually, his heart softened at her tears, and he pulled her up, holding her in his arms. While whipping her fiercely, he gently told her, "You must be obedient, always obey me, remember?"

Looking at the sweat on his face and his fierce expression, she knew there was no room for argument, and could only obediently nod repeatedly.

Jiuli didn't remember how she fell asleep; she only woke up to find herself in her own bed. She suspected that everything last night was just an absurd dream. But her arm hurt, and when she lifted it up, she saw a bruise on her wrist from Yu Qi's grip, and a scrape on her forearm from when he threw her to the ground, though it had been treated with ointment, which felt greasy.

She felt a sticky, uncomfortable feeling down there, so she woke up early. As she got out of bed, she felt a tearing pain – it wasn't a dream!

"You're awake?"

She was startled; it was Du Zhong. Her door wasn't latched; Yu Qi must have carried her back last night. Blushing, she walked to the dressing table and sat down, glancing back at Du Zhong. "What time is it?"

"It's just past Chen Shi (7-9 AM)." He walked up to her, turned her face to examine her closely, and noticed that her eyes were a little red and swollen; she must have cried last night. "Did Master hit you?"

Jiuli felt a pang of shame and quickly turned her face away, slamming the comb hard on the table. "That's worse than hitting her!"

Du Zhong looked at him with sympathy, and after a while said, "You deserve it. Why did you follow Qi Xu and run around like that? You even wanted to go to the capital? The mountains are high and the roads are long, and you're with a man. Who knows what might happen on the way!"

Feeling guilty, she glared at him in the mirror and said, "Hmph, now you're finally qualified to lecture me."

"I'm doing this for your own good. How did your master punish you last night?"

The question made Jiu Li's heart pound. Her memory was also confused. She only remembered that Yu Qi's expression was very different from before. It was as if he had become a different person. He was no longer gentle or indifferent. Instead, he was fierce and seemed to want to eat her alive.

She snapped out of her daze, turned around and glared at him, "You still have the nerve to ask? Why don't you think of putting in a good word for me?"

Du Zhong quickly laughed, "I originally wanted to plead for you. Last night I stayed in the room for a long time without daring to sleep, just waiting for Master to beat you so I could rush out and kowtow to beg for mercy on your behalf."

That's utter nonsense! If he wasn't asleep in the middle of the night, wouldn't he hear some noise? Why would he come here to ask? Jiu Li just stared at him and sneered.

He touched his nose, tied his hands behind his back, and said as he walked out, "I'm so tired. It's all because I was looking for you. I was running all over the streets yesterday afternoon. Don't do that again next time."

Jiuli gritted her teeth and slammed the comb hard against his back.

After a while, Xiuzhi brought in water for her to wash up and asked how Yuqi had disciplined her last night. She had no choice but to make up a story, saying that Yuqi first made her kneel, and when that wasn't enough, he hit her with a ruler.

Xiuzhi muttered to herself, "There's a ruler in the master's room? I didn't see it—"

Jiuli quickly changed the subject, "Where's the old lady?"

"Master still had Fengqiao escort the old lady back. You really are something, I don't know how worried you made her. It's no wonder Master beat you this time. You're such a grown man, yet you just go with someone like that. Let's see if you'll learn your lesson next time!"

The mere mention of "learning from one's mistakes" caused Jiu Li's face to flush red again. She couldn't recall any of the details from last night, but Yu Qi's words still echoed in her ears. Thinking about it, she could almost hear his deep, husky voice pressing her, asking, "Did you remember? Will you do it again next time?" Even though she had repeatedly assured him she wouldn't do it again, he seemed to ignore her.

She then realized that he was just using a plausible excuse to "torture" her.

Just then, Yu Qi came in from the shop and asked someone in the corridor, "Has the fish gotten up yet?"

Jiuli's face flushed, and she quickly went to close the door, afraid he would come in. How should she face him? Should she be angry or embarrassed, or should she throw a tantrum or act coquettishly? She couldn't decide on her own attitude.

Yuqing replied to him from under the eaves, "Get up, Aunt Guo is helping her wash up."

Xiuzhi immediately brought water to the door and stared at her. She had no choice but to step aside, open the door and let her out. In her haste, she peeked at Yu Qi through the crack in the door. He was standing in front of Du Zhong's door, wearing a copper-green robe. The color was a dark, gloomy green. She immediately remembered his eyes from last night, which shone with a greedy light from the darkness, and that light shone on her.

There seemed to be a thin scratch on his face, under his eyelid, like a red thread embroidered on white cloth, particularly noticeable. Yuqing was looking closely at him, "How did you get this on your face, sir?"

It seemed to be from her fingernails that she scratched him. Jiu Li remembered that she had not only scratched his face, but there must also be many bloodstains on his back from her pinching and scrambling.

Yu Qi raised his hand and touched it, then said calmly, "It was probably scratched by a tree branch while riding a horse last night."

He looked into the doorway! She ducked her head and slammed the door shut again.

Yuqing turned her head and glanced at the door, saying, "She's probably angry. The last time the master got this angry with her was when she was six or seven years old, climbing trees with other people to steal birds' nests. That's been so many years."

Yu Qi laughed and twisted one hand behind her back. "Shouldn't she be punished? Everyone, from top to bottom, spoils her. This is outrageous."

Yuqing didn't say anything more and went to the back with her shopping basket.

Jiuli hid behind the door, and soon heard Yu Qi's steady footsteps pass by her door. She hurriedly ran to the bedroom window, leaned on the desk, and watched his blurry shadow pass by. He didn't stop there, and she pouted, somewhat unhappy.

Later, she didn't go out for breakfast either. Her family didn't think much of her unusual behavior, assuming she was just angry with Yu Qi after being reprimanded. Hmph, she thought that was exactly right!

As noon approached, King Zhao's ship arrived at Luoshan Post Station. He sent someone to summon Xu Bai, who followed him onto the ship with his bundle hanging from his arm. King Zhao noticed that he was alone and asked him why. Xu Bai then recounted the events of the previous night to King Zhao, followed by a series of coughs.

“It’s fine if she doesn’t go. Anyway, once Chen Jia returns to the capital, this matter will inevitably cause a stir. If she really is the daughter of Prince Feng or the Emperor, she will have to be summoned to the capital.” After Zhou Yu finished speaking, she stared at his face. “Why are you coughing? You don’t look well either. Did you catch a cold at the inn last night?”

Xu Bai smiled and shook his head, "I was slapped by Yu Qi, which injured my heart and lungs a bit. I just feel tightness in my chest and shortness of breath, but otherwise I'm fine."

Zhou Yu pulled open his shirt and saw a purplish-red handprint on his chest. Her brows furrowed abruptly. "How could I have overlooked this—"

"What did Your Highness say?"

Zhou Yu lowered his hands and paced around the cabin. "Do you remember when I told you that when the whole mansion burned down, the Censorate found several men's corpses in the mansion. Those corpses had been killed by having their throats slit?"

"I remember, Your Highness. Why did you suddenly think of this?"

“I’ve seen the Ministry of Justice’s files. Among those corpses, two had suffered severe slaps that damaged their hearts and lungs.” He turned back and smiled. “Now that I think about it, it was probably Yu Qi who did it. When the whole mansion caught fire, he was the one who rescued Jiu Li from the fire and raised her to adulthood.”

Xu Bai frowned and pondered for a while, "Perhaps the prince is right. I remember when we were at Liyuan, Yu Qi seemed to have a particularly good understanding of knife wounds. I originally thought that all doctors had this skill, but now I think that's not the case. He may not only be good at medicine, but also good at martial arts."

Zhou Yu glanced at him with a smile, "Perhaps such a talent will be of great use to us in the future. Don't hold a grudge against him over such a small matter. To be fair, if you were to abduct someone's young lady, who else would he beat up if not you?"

"Your Highness, rest assured, I can distinguish between the importance of the country and personal grudges."

Zhou Yu walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Just as he was about to order someone to set sail, he suddenly saw a messenger from the inn leading someone running hurriedly from the shore. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a servant from the Qi family.

The servant boy boarded the boat and exclaimed, "Second Master, something terrible has happened! There's been trouble at home!"

"What happened?!"

"Last night, the Four Seasons Pavilion in our house caught fire. We spent most of the night putting it out. When we went to clean up this morning, we found a body! My wife fainted on the spot! When she woke up, she was incoherent. The doctor said that we need to find a skilled doctor to perform acupuncture to restore her sanity!"

These words startled Zhou Yu as well.

Xu Bai hurriedly pressed, "How did the fire start? Was it an accident or arson? And whose body is it?"

"It must have been Yu Qi who set the fire! The house caught fire as soon as he left our house yesterday. Isn't that obvious? Besides, there are witnesses! The master sent me to tell you that this matter involves the Yu family, and Madam's life is in danger. Do you think it's possible to postpone your trip to the capital and go home to see Madam and investigate this case?"

Xu Bai was still in shock and doubt and didn't say anything for a moment. Zhou Yu came over and said, "Since your mother is critically ill and such a big thing has happened in the family, and it involves Yu Qi, you should go back first. I will plead guilty for you in front of the Emperor."

The Emperor originally summoned him to the capital to reward him for his detailed report on the Qinglian Temple case. However, the Emperor's reward was merely to give Zhou Yu face. Therefore, it is natural that Chen Jia would not be severely punished.

So be it if he missed out on the reward, since it wasn't anything he was particularly interested in anyway. He then took his leave, disembarked, and ran home with his servant.

After returning and visiting Sirou, Xuyun went outside and asked around. He learned that the body was that of Chen Zifang, a servant in the household. This man was responsible for purchasing daily necessities for the mansion. He had a wife who was in charge of purchasing meat and vegetables for the kitchen. The body had been burned beyond recognition, but his wife recognized it by a copper lock around his neck.

Xu Bai said, "When Mr. Yu came over yesterday, was he the one who accompanied him at the Four Seasons Pavilion?"

“No, I was out socializing yesterday and didn’t go home. I only found out this morning that A-Wang was with me.” Xu Yun sat on the couch rubbing his temples. “That’s why I found this matter suspicious and sent someone to call you back. If Chen Zifang wasn’t entertaining guests, what was he doing at Sishixuan? Who in the family would go to that room for no reason? Besides, Mr. Yu had no grudge against him, so why would he burn him to death?”

"I heard there are witnesses who testified that Mr. Yu set the fire, but who are these witnesses?"

"It's not someone from our family, it's a doctor named Xu Qing. This morning, my aunt went to the yamen to report the case, and not long after, this Xu Qing also went to the yamen. He said that yesterday evening he saw Mr. Yu coming out of our side gate in a hurry, and he even left a torch in the alley at the side gate. Just now, Constable Zhang led his men to search in that alley and they actually found a torch."

"And where is Mr. Yu now?"

“There are witnesses and physical evidence, so Lord Yan can’t say anything. He’s probably already ordered the arrest of the people at the Yu family.” Xu Yun said, sitting up and heading into the bedroom to see Si Rou. “I think you should go to the yamen first and discuss it with Lord Yan. Put the case aside for now and ask Mr. Yu to come to our house to treat Madam. Remember, don’t hold any personal grudges against Mr. Yu because of some past grievances with the Yu family, and don’t just follow what others say. Mr. Yu isn’t the kind of person who would easily commit arson or violence. Talk to him properly.”

Without needing further instructions, Xu Bai, having received Zhou Yu's words, could let go of even the biggest grudges he had with Yu Qi. Besides, it was nothing more than a trivial matter of jealousy. If he lost his composure over such a petty thing, he would have wasted all those years of studying.

He nodded solemnly to his elder brother, “Don’t worry, brother, I’ll go and invite Mr. Yu right away. It’s more important to heal my wife first.”

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.