Chapter 8 A Certain Young Man

Looking at the sky, Qiandeng estimated that Ling Tianshui and the others would not have time to return to the city after finishing their business, so he decided to wait at the farm first.

Wei Fengyang rubbed his nose and said goodbye to Qiandeng while sneezing.

Seeing him like this, Cui Fufeng asked, "Could it be that Wei Zuoshu has urticaria from pine pollen?"

"It seems so. I've had this problem a few times before in this season, but it usually goes away after I wash and change clothes." Wei Fengyang scratched his face a few times, but didn't care too much.

Qian Deng saw that his eyes were red and swollen with tears, and thinking about the rugged road on the Eighteen Bends Mountain, he said, "I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for Wei Zuo to go back like this. Why don't you go to my village and clean up first?"

After more than half a year, Uncle Ying has taken over from Uncle Fu to manage the farm, and he is managing it in an orderly manner.

As soon as they saw the county lady coming with the left guards of the Eastern Palace, everyone on the farm hurried to boil water, prepare meals, feed the horses, and serve tea. They were very busy for a while.

Daimao, who was working at the farm, heard that the county lady had arrived and hurried over to serve her.

Uncle Fu had been buried hastily during the turmoil, so the tomb and headstone had been hastily constructed. Now that the situation had stabilized, stonemasons had just been hired to build the tombstone perimeter, and the monument would be erected in the next few days. Such a major event, naturally, was something her daughter had to return to oversee.

She glanced at Cui Fufeng, then subconsciously looked for the other person beside the county lady, with a look of disappointment on her face: "County lady, Ling Sijie didn't come with you?"

Qian Deng asked with a smile, "It's strange today. Why are everyone looking for Ling Sijie?"

"No, then... Captain Ji isn't here either?"

Qian Deng was even more surprised: "Are you also going to find a team of soldiers to wipe out the rebellious soldiers?"

"County Lady, you're truly amazing! How did you know that?" Daimao was both surprised and delighted upon hearing this. He quickly grabbed her sleeve and said, "County Lady, my brother A-Zhong and I discovered traces of several rebel soldiers in the back mountains!"

"Are there really rebels? I heard that Zhuangzi helped the government wipe out a group of them just last month. How come there are more?"

"But, these random soldiers..." Daimao said, lowering his voice and winking at her, "I'm afraid it's related to what happened before."

Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng looked at each other and immediately thought of the relics of Uncle Fu that she had sent, those scraps of paper that still had no conclusion.

He calmly signaled everyone else to leave, leaving only the three of them in the room. Qiandeng then asked Daimao in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

"County Lady, my father's tomb was completed mid-month, and the monument is about to be erected. According to our customs, this is considered the completion of a new home, and the children must set out fruits and offerings in front of the grave in advance to pay tribute to the wandering spirits of the land. After all, as with the living, the dead are like the living, and even after a hundred years, we should maintain good neighborly relations, right?"

When玳瑁 opened his mouth, he talked about other things.

But Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng both knew that it must be related, so they just asked her to explain it in detail.

This is a custom near Chang'an. People in the countryside know that these are gifts from the deceased to their "neighbors" and they will not touch these things before the empty tomb is filled with burial.

Unexpectedly, when Daimao and A Zhong went to clean the grave today, they found that all the offerings had been taken away, without a single one left.

The brother and sister were so angry that they were fuming. How could anyone in this world be so unruly? Even if they were starving, two or three would be enough. How could they eat up all the offerings and take them away?

Their father had just arrived and was buried in this area. He didn't have a good relationship with the surrounding ghosts. What if he got troubled by some ghosts in the underworld?

The brother and sister didn't bother to pack up and followed the trail through the mountains to settle the score.

Uncle Fu served as a scout under the command of King Changhua and was the best at tracking. A Zhong and Dai Mao had learned some of their father's skills since they were young, so they followed him intermittently, and finally discovered something unusual in a ruined temple in the nearby canyon.

There were five men and one woman in the dilapidated temple. The men were of varying ages, all with fierce expressions. The swords at their waists, though tattered, were military-issue. Their demeanor was familiar to the Daimao siblings—they were a small group of roving bandits.

The soldiers and bandits sat on the ground, munching on the offerings. Before them was a fragrant roasted pheasant. One of the men, who looked the strongest, tore off a chicken leg and handed it to the woman sitting next to him.

The chicken was not big to begin with, and the strong men next to him were still figuring out which part they would eat. When they saw him give the meatiest part to the woman first, they immediately glared at them.

The man said, "This is my share, which I gave to Xiurong. The rest is yours."

Hearing the soldiers and bandits call the woman "Xiurong", Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng looked at each other thoughtfully. They didn't expect that things would be so coincidental.

Daimao said, "County Lady, isn't it strange that the woman with these soldiers and bandits is actually quite fair and plump. She's wearing a bright royal blue satin dress and a hairpin in her hair. It doesn't look like a cheap wooden or copper hairpin!"

Qiandeng wasn't surprised. She had married into the Jin family, the richest family in Chang'an. Although her husband had died young, Jin Tang was right. The Jin family would not treat her badly in terms of living expenses.

Lan Xiurong had lived a life of luxury for the past ten years. After taking two bites of the chicken leg, she frowned, disliking the tastelessness. "Brother Feng, when can we go home? We've been hiding here all this time, with poor food and sleep, and the risk of being arrested at any time. It's no use!"

The sturdy man said helplessly: "Wait a few days, we are looking for someone for your benefactor."

Lan Xiurong asked, "What benefactor? Who are you looking for?"

"He's the one who helped us hide. We were able to hide here for so long, avoiding multiple searches by soldiers, all thanks to your help..."

The rebel army was so brutal and had weapons on their waists. Daimao and his brother made a gesture. While they were talking and not paying attention to the outside world, Daimao quietly moved out, preparing to secretly come back to report and deal with this group of soldiers and bandits.

Unexpectedly, just as they were moving quietly, they suddenly heard the words of those people behind them, and they even heard the word "Changhua Palace".

When they heard these four words, Daimao and A Zhong were shocked. After exchanging glances, they quickly stopped and retreated into the bushes outside the ruined temple, listening attentively.

The man with a goatee, who turned out to be the oldest among the bandits, said, "Come to think of it, I suspect our benefactor is from the Changhua Palace!"

"When the Prince of Changhua kicked us out, he refused to stay no matter how much we begged and pleaded. We even got beaten up." Another man snorted and rubbed his nose. "Now, retribution has come. Only an orphan girl is left in the Changhua Palace. But our benefactor was a man after all."

At first glance, the man looked like he had a flat nose, but when Daimao took a closer look at him, he discovered a scar on the bridge of his nose. It turned out that someone had cut off most of the tip of his nose, causing this to happen.

The man with the goat beard said with a forced smile, "Although Prince Changhua only left behind this one granddaughter, there are many men living in the backyard of the palace!"

As soon as these words were spoken, several people immediately made faces at each other, and for a moment they even forgot that they were barely surviving in the dilapidated temple, and they all smiled strangely at the same time.

Lan Xiurong asked, "Which candidate from the backyard is it? What's his last name?"

After all, she is Jin Tang's nominal seventh aunt, and Jin Tang is also in the county lord's backyard. Regardless of whether she has any affection for the Jin family or not, she is always curious about acquaintances.

A bandit named Feng, who was close to her, said, "I don't know. Every time he came to deliver rice and flour to us, he covered his face and wore a cloak, with something in his mouth, and spoke in a strange way. However, I see that his stature and demeanor are indeed different from those of ordinary people."

"Nonsense! The candidate for the husband of a county lady must be either a high-ranking official or a nobleman—but, tell me how you saw through his identity?"

The man stroked his goatee and boasted, "I'm older and more experienced, so I know how to be wary of others better than you. Once, after he left, I quietly followed him and saw him reach the outer mountain path. Seeing that there was no one around, he took off his cloak, mounted his horse, and rode away, all the way to Chang'an City."

"Did the boss see his face?"

"I haven't seen him, but I know who he is. Do you remember last year when it snowed heavily and Lady Qi was buried? Didn't we secretly watch the funeral procession from afar in the mountains?"

The noseless man nodded immediately: "I remember! Prince Changhua and the Crown Prince are both handsome, and the County Lady is even more like a fairy. No wonder so many men are vying to be her husband!"

"The man who rode away that day was one of the county lady's potential husbands," the man with the goatee confirmed. "When I was under Prince Changhua's command, I was in charge of saddles and stirrups in the cavalry battalion. Let me tell you, everyone rides differently, especially when it comes to getting on and off the horse, and the angles at which they do so. In this respect, our benefactor and one of the county lady's potential husbands are exactly the same. Absolutely!"

"So..." The bandit surnamed Feng put his hand on Lan Xiurong's shoulder and asked thoughtfully, "Before, our benefactor asked us to find the body, and now he wants to find the well fence. Is this also related to the Changhua Palace?"