Chapter 9 A Chance Encounter
The young man in the blue robe was slender and upright, less radiant than when he wore scarlet robes, but more refined.
It was Xue Han, the Imperial Envoy whom I had just met yesterday.
He strolled over, seemingly just wandering around.
Qiu Heng instantly returned to normal, passing by without glancing at him.
The boy stopped and turned to look at the girl wearing a veil: "Sixth Miss Qiu."
Qiu Heng's first reaction was to pretend she hadn't heard and walk away quickly, but her instincts from countless dangerous experiences made her make a quick judgment.
The young woman stopped, lifted the veil covering her face, and revealed just the right amount of confusion: "Lord Xue?"
"Is Miss Qiu alone?"
Qiu Heng felt that the question was asked with ill intent.
Given her current status as the sixth young lady of the Yongqing Marquis's mansion, it would be unusual for her to be seen alone on the street, not to mention having a large retinue of servants.
Just yesterday, the person in front of her even made a special trip to her door to rule out her suspicion of being a spy, not caring at all about offending the Earl of Yongqing.
If the excuse is not clever, it will only increase the person's suspicion.
After a moment's thought, Qiu Heng smiled sheepishly: "I was curious about the sights of the capital, but it's not as convenient to go out as it used to be in the countryside, so I sneaked out to take a look. I hope Lord Xue won't tell anyone, otherwise my elders at home will definitely scold me."
The boy's eyes lit up with thought upon hearing this.
Qiu Heng calmly let him stare at her, secretly cursing her bad luck.
Throughout the capital, very few people had ever seen her, yet she happened to run into this Lord Xue. Not only did he encounter her, but he also recognized her immediately, even after she had changed her clothes and was wearing a veiled hat.
Such a coincidence and keen eye are puzzling.
The young man seemed to believe this explanation, and then changed the subject: "Did my visit to your residence yesterday cause Miss Qiu a lot of trouble?"
Qiu Heng: "..." What do you think?
After a subtle silence, Xue Han looked apologetic: "It was my oversight... If Miss Qiu needs any help in the future, you can come to me."
Qiu Heng felt a little strange upon hearing this.
Neither the records in the books nor his confrontation with the Earl of Yongqing yesterday suggested that Xue Han was a warm-hearted person. Yet, judging from his expression now, he seemed quite sincere.
Qiu Heng suddenly had an idea.
"If I encounter any difficulties, would Lord Xue truly be willing to help?"
The boy paused slightly, clearly not expecting his request for help to come so quickly, and his words became somewhat incoherent: "Yes, of course..."
"Not long ago, my adoptive father went to the city to fetch a doctor for my adoptive mother. On the way, he was run over and killed by a group of young masters riding back to the city on horseback... I want to know who killed my adoptive father."
Xue Han's enthusiasm is really strange. Let's see if he's just being polite, genuinely kind, or has ulterior motives.
"Miss Qiu, please tell me in detail where you live and when the accident happened..."
"I live in Yunfeng Village, Suiyun County..." As she answered the questions, Qiu Heng sensed something as she watched the boy listen attentively.
He seemed to be serious.
Suiyun County isn't far from the capital, and the local officials are used to their tyrannical ways. They wouldn't consider the accidental death of a mountain villager a big deal, so there's no question of keeping it a secret. Therefore, given the capabilities of the Imperial City Guard, finding out that the person who killed his adoptive father was Han Wu's son, Han Ziheng, would be a piece of cake.
Xue Han's adoptive father, Xue Quan, had always been at odds with Han Wu.
Qiu Heng's sudden idea stemmed from this.
She wanted to see what Xue Quan would do now that he had leverage over Han Wu's son's killing of an innocent civilian.
If Xue Quan uses this opportunity to attack Han Wu, with such a person involved, can the adoptive father get justice?
Although this justice is not true justice.
But if she can't even get this kind of justice, she can put away any more thoughts.
"I will send someone to investigate. If I find anything, I will inform Miss Qiu."
Qiu Heng bowed deeply: "Thank you, Lord Xue."
"It's getting late, Miss Qiu, you should head back soon."
"Farewell, Lord Xue."
Qiu Heng took a few steps forward before the boy's voice came from behind her: "Goodbye."
The Yongqing Marquis's Mansion stood majestically in the hazy night, brightly lit. Qiu Heng, like a light swallow, landed inside the wall and returned to Lengxiang Residence.
"Miss is back." Fangzhou took the spices Qiuheng was carrying, somewhat curiously, "Is Miss going to make incense again?"
Only Fangzhou knew that Qiuheng's daily visits to the mountain to guard the grave were just an excuse given to Wang Mama and the others. During that time, the girl made many incense pills, incense powders, and incense pendants that she had never seen before.
"Yes, I want to make a kind of incense, a calming incense."
The room was brightly lit by candlelight. Watching Fangzhou deftly arrange the spices, Qiuheng asked softly, "Fangzhou, don't you think I've changed a lot?"
From the moment she returned home in the heavy rain, many things had clearly changed, yet Fangzhou never asked about them.
Fangzhou paused, put down the incense, walked back to Qiuheng's side, and slowly took her arm.
“The girl must have suffered a lot after being lost in the mountains for so long, so it’s only natural that she would change.”
She dared not ask, for fear that if she did, the girl would disappear.
She was certain the girl was still the girl, even if it was just the girl's soul that returned, as long as she came back, that was enough.
Whether it's a human or a ghost, whether it's transformed or not, what does it matter?
"Fangzhou."
"Ai."
"I want to eat chestnut cake."
Fangzhou gave a bright smile: "I'll make it for you tomorrow, Miss."
In the following days, Fangzhou made chestnut cake, shortbread, square cake, hibiscus cake...
The old woman, Yu Mama, who came to Lengxiangju every morning to catch fish, felt a pang of conscience and took the initiative to remind Qiu Heng: "Sixth Miss, you've worked hard learning etiquette. Don't forget to send some snacks to Qiansong Hall to show your respect to the old lady. If the old lady appreciates your filial piety, you'll be able to go out of the mansion to attend banquets like the other young ladies in the future."
Granny Yu wasn't just saying that casually. Just today, the four young ladies from the Marquis of Changchun's mansion went to the flower banquet, but Qiuheng was the only one who was left out.
In Granny Yu's view, the Sixth Miss was confined to the mansion and could not enter the circle of noble ladies. She had no chance to be seen by the noble ladies, so her future was bleak.
And the one who can make these decisions is undoubtedly the old lady.
"Thank you for the reminder, Granny Yu. Granny Yu, please try this translucent rice cake; it's freshly made in Fangzhou."
While Granny Yu was enjoying the delicious snacks, Fangzhou couldn't help but worry about Qiuheng: "Miss, should I go and find out what the old lady likes to eat?"
"Need not."
Qiu Heng picked up a pastry and began to eat it slowly and deliberately.
In this world, the one who truly determines the fate of a household is not the old lady, but the Earl of Yongqing.
If the old lady could have made these decisions, the one who was sent to be a concubine and died in the prime of her life would not have been her most beloved granddaughter, the fourth daughter, Qiu Fu.
But the Earl of Yongqing, who was shameless in his pursuit of wealth and glory, could not be swayed by a few plates of pastries.
"Once the incense is ready, Fangzhou can accompany me out."
...
At the Changchun Marquis's residence, a flower banquet was held in the garden, where the two daughters of the Changchun Marquis's wife, as hosts, greeted the noble ladies who had been invited.
The younger sister, named Feng Caixing, couldn't wait to greet the Qiu family girls when she heard they had arrived.
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