7. Such nice-sounding insults.
◎One day you gain power, the next your soul is scattered.◎
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Without a second thought, in the blink of an eye, Hua Yao reached out and grabbed Cui Xun's arm, pulling him half a foot to the side with brute force.
The crossbow bolt grazed his shoulder and landed on the table with a thud.
Hua Yao was still panting heavily, her hands still resting on Cui Xun's arms to support her somewhat weak body.
She suddenly held her breath because she felt a gaze upon her.
She looked up and met Cui Xun's gaze.
Then, following his gaze, I saw my own hands.
She quickly let go of him as if he were a hot potato.
"Don't worry, I don't want to touch you either. I just can't stand seeing people die in front of me."
Cui Xun didn't respond, but stared at her with a cold face, as if she owed him eight million.
Hua Yao sighed helplessly, "Look at you, you should stop threatening people with arrows in the future. Look," she pointed to the arrow with her chin, "the retribution came so quickly."
She should have looked away, because once she did, she noticed that the arrow was an unusual black.
She walked to the table, forcefully pulled out the arrow, and said, "You must have offended quite a few people before; this is a deadly attack."
After babbling on and on, Hua Yao saw that Cui Xun was still standing there like a wooden statue.
Feeling bored, she gave a slight bow and said, "Since there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." She then turned and walked towards the door.
There was no one outside the door?
She had only taken a few steps when she encountered Qin Yan in the corridor. She stopped and still reminded him, "Your master is frightened, go and comfort him."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yan's expression was quite interesting.
The lord can be frightened? And this second young lady, how can she casually strike up a conversation with someone?
...
As she reached the top of the wooden stairs, Hua Yao realized that her veil had fallen off.
She tiptoed back to the door on the far left, and just as she raised her hand to knock, she heard faint voices coming from inside.
Cui Xun's tone was casual, with a hint of sarcasm, "To be kind to the enemy is to court death. This Miss Hua is someone we can use."
What?
Hua Yao's breathing suddenly stopped for a moment.
Is this even human language?
She had just pulled him to avoid arrows, how could he say such cold-hearted things?
No, that's not right. Hua Yao's expression froze. She was wondering why the Duke's guards, standing right at the door, didn't even know something was happening inside?
Perhaps that arrow was part of their own carefully orchestrated plot...
Hua Yao was furious, cursing Cui Xun hundreds of times in her heart. This man was treacherous and cunning; one must never associate with him.
With a creak, the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
Qin Yan was slightly taken aback, not expecting Hua Yao to still be at the door, "Aunt..."
Cui Xun looked up and saw Hua Yao rushing in, squeezing through the door frame.
Hua Yao's steps were hurried and heavy. She walked to the table and grabbed the veil that was next to him.
She glared fiercely at the man sitting down.
"You bastard."
After saying that, she turned and left.
Cui Xun raised an eyebrow slightly, watching her retreating figure, and smiled instead of getting angry.
"You bastard? You're using such a nice insult."
As Hua Yao passed by the door, she couldn't help but glare at Qin Yan standing there, thinking, "Birds of a feather."
Qin Yan's spine stiffened, unable to express his bitterness. He watched as she deftly covered her face with a veil, leaving behind a resolute silhouette.
He had no choice but to turn his head and look at Cui Xun with a questioning gaze.
"Let her go," Cui Xun said softly.
--
It was already midday when they returned to their residence.
Pianzhu was a little petty, saying that the young lady no longer took her with her when she went out, and left her a note to send her away. Huayao had to coax her a few times to calm her down.
Hua Yao had changed her clothes and was on her way to the front yard when Pian Zhu walked beside her carrying a vermilion lacquered food box.
Upon arriving at the front courtyard, the servants said that the old lady was currently at the waterside pavilion.
The two went to look for her and found the maid waiting to the side, while the old lady was leaning against the railing with her eyes closed, resting.
Before she even got close, the old lady opened her eyes. When she saw that it was Hua Yao, she raised her hand and beckoned her over, "Yao-jie, what brings you here to see your grandmother?"
Hua Yao took the food box from Pian Zhu's hand, placed it on the stone table, and then sat down next to her grandmother, her voice gentle, "Grandmother."
“Lately, I’ve been thinking about my mother a lot, and I’ve been craving these lotus flower pastries. So I went to Yulufang today and brought some back,” Hua Yao said, taking out a pastry and handing it over. “Grandmother, please have a taste.”
The old lady reached out and took it. "You're still the same as when you were little. Whenever you miss your mother, you whine about wanting to eat lotus flower pastries, and you can't wait even a little while." She pointed to her head and said in a doting tone, "You've made your grandmother cry so much."
Hua Yao smiled and admitted her mistake, "It was Yao'er's fault."
The old lady sighed, "Your mother passed away early, and Aunt Fang was too competitive. You've suffered these past years."
Hua Yao smiled but did not respond to this statement; she could not speak on behalf of the real Second Miss Hua.
After hesitating for a moment, Hua Yao changed the subject, "Grandmother, today in the market, some people were talking about how the Duke of Jin investigated a case that involved Luozhou. I haven't received a single letter from Father these days, and I don't know if Luozhou is peaceful now, or if Father is alright."
The old lady sat up straight and gestured for the maid to leave. Only the grandmother and granddaughter remained in the pavilion.
"You came to see me today for this very reason, didn't you?"
Hua Yao did not deny it, saying, "I can't hide it from my grandmother."
The old lady sighed deeply, her voice serious, "This case that Duke Jin is investigating is a major one. Last time he came to the manor, he only used the mad horse case as a pretext, but in reality, he came to probe for information."
"In the affairs of the court, one can gain power in a day and lose it in a day. What you're gambling with is the life of your whole family."
"Your father is the Prime Minister, and everyone envies him," the old lady patted Hua Yao's hand, "but this position is not easy to hold."
"No matter how innocent the Ren family is, with this turbulent situation, it's inevitable that some people with ulterior motives will try to muddy the waters."
Hua Yao frowned. Did the old lady mean that the Hua family had now also sided with a faction?
According to what she knew, the imperial lineage of the Great Ze Kingdom was thin, and now only an eight-year-old crown prince remained in the palace to barely maintain the dignity of the royal family.
Even if you have to stand, you have no choice, unless...
Hua Yao was shocked. Could it be that Duke Jin coveted the throne, which was why he wanted to win over the Prime Minister's mansion?
But judging from the current situation, is this Prime Minister's residence part of the Crown Prince's faction?
Hua Yao smiled bitterly. What kind of situation was this? Was it inevitable to fight for the throne in ancient times?
What if all this arguing affects the household? Will she ever be able to go home again?
Hua Yao leaned close to the old lady's ear and whispered, "Grandmother, is Father more honorable than the Crown Prince?"
"Hey! You little rascal..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the old lady pretended to be angry, as if she had heard something unbelievable, and slapped Hua Yao's hand with a little more force.
Then he suddenly lowered his voice and said, “Don’t let others hear these kinds of things in the future. Your father disliked conflict. Even when he was occasionally schemed against by villains, he never got involved with any faction after it was over.”
Hua Yao felt a little relieved after hearing this. She chuckled and said, "That's good. Yao'er only hopes that Grandmother and Father will be healthy and safe."
The old lady gave a helpless smile and lightly poked Hua Yao's nose, "You talk too much."
...
The grandmother and granddaughter chatted for a while longer, and the old lady asked her how she knew how to set bones for people.
Hua Yao said that she usually had nothing to do, so she spent her free time reading a lot of medical books in the courtyard.
The old lady pouted, "Oh, you're looking at medical books? Why don't you read your... what... what was it again? Some kind of miscellaneous records?"
Hua Yao's heart skipped a beat, but she smiled calmly on the surface, "Of course I read them, I read whatever books are available."
It matches up. She is now even more certain that the two missing pages in the book must be related to the disappearance of Hua Er Guniang, or even to her inexplicable arrival here.
"Why are you looking at everything? Why don't you even glance at those sheet music and painting manuals?"
"Two months ago, at the old lady's birthday banquet at the Pingyuan Marquis's residence, the women gathered together and chatted about elegant pastimes such as playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting," the old lady suddenly changed the subject, "It's a good thing you didn't go."
Hua Yao's expression froze, and she blinked as she looked at the old lady beside her. What did she mean by "thank goodness she didn't go"?
Seeing Hua Yao's expression, the old lady smiled with a triumphant grin.
"It's just a few things anyway, you'll only be annoyed if you go. Isn't it a pleasure to do what you like in the courtyard?"
Hua Yao pretended to be angry, "Grandmother, you're teasing Yao'er again."
The old lady couldn't stop laughing. "Alright, alright, Grandmother was just teasing you. We women of the Hua family don't need to be so restrained. We can do whatever we want."
Hua Yao suddenly felt a dryness in her throat.
She had been here for almost two months and hadn't had much contact with the people in the mansion. At first, she thought the old lady had a strong sense of pride, but was simply constrained by societal norms and found it difficult to let go of the concept of "reputation."
After getting to know her better, she found the old lady to be insightful, unpretentious, and loving towards the younger generation. She was a good grandmother.
However, since she was so clear-headed, why did she allow Aunt Fang to torment Hua Er-niang and ruin her reputation?
Hua Yao took a deep breath. She didn't want to pry into what they were thinking, but she felt a little sorry for the second young lady, Hua.
--
Night falls at the Duke's mansion.
"My lord, the matter has been completed," Qin Yan reported respectfully.
Cui Xun tapped the desk lightly with his fingertips, a faint smile playing on his lips. "He's been living too carefree. It's time for him to wake up."
"What about Qin Feng..."
"Have him continue to follow Qin Feng."
"Yes." Qin Yan stepped back and closed the door.
Cui Xun sat alone at his desk, the white jade candle on the desk casting a long shadow of him on the cold wall, an image of boundless loneliness.
He glanced sideways, his gaze landing on the faded brocade box at the deepest part of the display shelf.
He stared at it, remaining motionless for a long time.
After a moment, he got up and walked to the other side, took an old painting from the wall, and placed it on the table. But he didn't really look at it; his gaze seemed to fall elsewhere through the painting.
It seemed as if I saw a heart-wrenching scene.
Cui Xun bent slightly, closed his eyes, and frowned. His hands rested on the cool rosewood edge of the table, his fingertips slowly clenching into fists.
The joints, bluish-white from the exertion, were trembling slightly, unable to stop themselves from doing so.
They all deserve to die.
They all deserve to die!
Cui Xun chuckled softly with his eyes closed, a laugh that looked more like a grimace.
He will take those people's lives one by one.
They will all die, none of them can escape...
After an unknown amount of time, he sat down again, exhausted.
A gentle night breeze swept by, scattering the candlelight and blurring the shadows on the wall...
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