Deliberately keep distance
The people in the yamen always believed that Fugui’s tragic death had some unclear connection with Su Qingli.
Although County Magistrate Dai did not explicitly say that it was most likely the work of Qi Jinqian, he mentioned intentionally or unintentionally that Qi Jinqian should not be ignored and could also become one of the suspects.
"It was definitely not done by my family. They can't command Wang Laowu, and they would never collude with such a person." Su Qingli firmly believed that the people of the Qi family and the Su family were kind-hearted and would never do such a cruel thing.
"Madam Qi Liu, please rest assured. Our officials will investigate the matter and will not wrongly accuse an innocent person."
Constable Peng gave Su Qingli a reassurance.
Afterwards, Su Qingli confided the story of the gambling house to County Magistrate Dai.
County Magistrate Dai ordered people to investigate the Changfeng Village, focusing on the bandit nicknamed Tiedan.
In the Shenshui Garden of the Qi Mansion, Qi Jinqian, who was playing with "Jiujiu", was very angry.
"He's more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything! Yin Han, you need to deal with this guy completely. He can't even keep up with anyone, so what's the point of keeping him around?"
Yinhan glanced at the furious Qi Jinqian, lowered his eyelids, responded respectfully, and hurried out to do his business.
Qi Caiyao watched Yinhan rushing past her and just nodded sullenly and said hello.
"Sixth uncle, did something happen to Uncle Su? I saw Yinhan leaving in such a hurry." Sensing something was wrong, Qi Caiyao hurried to Chenshuiyuan. She was also worried about Su Qingli's condition.
"Cai Yao, your sixth aunt is meeting another man, and that man is taking advantage of your sixth aunt's kindness to deceive her. I asked Yinhan to follow her quietly and protect your sixth aunt along the way." Qi Jinqian said calmly, and he lied without even thinking, just flowing out of his mouth.
"Sixth uncle, you are not jealous, are you?" Qi Caiyao, a little kid with a mature personality, giggled and blinked meaningfully at Qi Jinqian.
Qi Jinqian, sitting in a wheelchair, straightened his clothes and stubbornly pushed his wheelchair away. He turned his back on Qi Caiyao and refused to admit, "What's so delicious about me?"
"Sixth uncle, is there anything I can help you with? I'm a girl, and I get along well with Sixth Aunt. I can follow Sixth Aunt with a legitimate reason." Qi Caiyao laughed even louder, walked around to Qi Jinqian, stopped him with a smile on her face, and stared straight into those evasive dark eyes.
"That man is so mysterious, he covers his face with a veil all day. Ah Li said his face is disfigured. I'm afraid something might happen to Ah Li, and then I'll regret it."
Qi Jinqian stared at each other for a moment, then gave in and sighed, revealing the doubts buried in his heart.
"I understand Sixth Uncle's feelings for Sixth Aunt. Leave this matter to me. Your niece will take good care of Sixth Aunt for you." Qi Caiyao curled her lips and narrowed her eyes slightly, like a faint crescent moon hanging in the sky.
Hearing Qi Caiyao's reply, Qi Jinqian smiled and rubbed the few strands of black hair hanging on her forehead.
So he turned the wheel and walked to a round stone table not far away. He picked up the cage containing the Jiujiu bird and took it away.
"Sixth uncle, where did you buy this pearl bird? It's small and cute. Can you give it to me?" Qi Caiyao heard the melodious bird calls and turned her gaze to the bird.
"Caiyao, please forgive me for not being able to bear the pain of parting with this bird. This bird was chosen by A-Li as a birthday gift for me on my birthday. I raise it as if it were our child."
Qi Jinqian immediately declined politely, as this pearl bird was his sweetheart.
His birthday was a few days ago. Not long after Su Huaihai disappeared, he asked Su Qingli to go strolling in the market. Yin Han echoed with him and revealed during the conversation that it was his birthday today.
Su Qingli picked a gift that day. Seeing that the pearl bird was lively and clever, and pleasing to the eye, she picked it to give to Qi Jinqian as a companion.
Qi Jinqian has always been a low-key person. He knew that Su Qingli was worried about Su Huaihai's disappearance, so he didn't hold a big celebration. He chose a restaurant and the whole family gathered together happily to celebrate Qi Jinqian's birthday.
"Why didn't Sixth Uncle have a child with Sixth Aunt? Yue Qiao would have someone to help her in the future. Her mother died young, and with a younger brother or sister to grow up with, she wouldn't have to be alone."
Qi Caiyao felt pity for Qi Yueqiao, who lost her mother shortly after she was born. The three-year-old child was not close to many people in the mansion and only wanted to interact with her wet nurse and biological father.
"A-li is not interested in having children yet, and Qiao'er doesn't want me to remarry and give her a stepmother. I have no choice but to send her to another village to take shelter for a while, to calm down first, and then bring her back home to get along with A-li."
Qi Jinqian sighed helplessly, a trace of tangled sadness appearing on his face.
"Forgive me for my offense, but Sixth Uncle is the most thoughtful. Both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh and blood, and Sixth Uncle is the one who has the most difficult job being caught in the middle." Qi Caiyao expressed her understanding.
"Caiyao, come with me to the palace to visit your aunt and cousin. It's been a while since you've been to the palace."
The last time Qi Caiyao went to the palace was for the Queen Mother's birthday. It had been a while since she last visited the palace. To be honest, she missed Queen Qi and Princess Changle very much.
So, without saying anything, he nodded happily in agreement.
The two entered the palace and happened to meet Princess Changle and the eldest princess who were traveling together, talking and laughing on a path.
"Sixth uncle, look, isn't that my cousin Changle?"
Qi Caiyao pointed at the two people on the road diagonally across. She was familiar with Changle's figure and appearance, so there was no way she was mistaken.
Hearing this, Qi Jinqian followed her gaze and asked, "Why is Changle with the Princess? Has she forgotten the rift between the Empress and the Princess? If your aunt saw this, she would probably faint from rage."
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Qi Caiyao pushed Qi Jinqian over and greeted them with a smile: "Caiyao greets the two princes."
Princess Changle and her family arrived and smiled back, "Ayao, there's no need to be so polite. We are all family."
"Yes, you are the Queen Mother's family, and you are also our family." The eldest princess agreed with a smile.
Qi Jinqian didn't buy it. After the previous counterattack in the court, he had already determined that the princess was Fu Xuechen's lover. "Your Highness, you are not the Empress's daughter after all. You are estranged from our Qi family and we have no contact with each other."
The princess understood what was going on, but she defended herself, "Sixth uncle is right. I'm sure you still hold a grudge against me for my last counterattack in the court, which nearly implicated the Queen Mother. This was not my intention."
"Your Highness, please don't call me Sixth Uncle. It makes me uncomfortable." Qi Jinqian still spoke rudely to the princess.
"Sixth uncle, I'll go with you." Princess Changle said goodbye to the eldest princess temporarily, intending to ease the awkwardness between the two parties. "Royal sister, I have something to do in the Queen Mother's palace, so I can't go with you."
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