Chapter 18 Ore She really did hate him; how could she possibly come...?
The door opened.
Qin Yuqi was standing under that door. Luckily, he reacted quickly and dodged to the side, avoiding being hit by the door.
"Oh, I see," Xiao Jiang said, holding the flowerpot, suddenly realizing the truth.
Earth produces metal, and metal overcomes wood. The soil in the pot truly nourishes the metal pot body, while the power of metal not only suppresses the flowers and plants in the pot, but more importantly, it suppresses the wooden doors and windows. The two inconspicuous flower pots actually constitute an ingenious door-closing technique.
Absolutely ingenious.
This was the first time Xiao Jiang had encountered such a mechanism, and she couldn't help but marvel at it. She had only managed to break the formation by sheer accident.
"What the hell is this door? How did it suddenly collapse? It almost hit me!" Qin Yuqi cursed as he dusted himself off. He knew in his heart that it wasn't the door's fault, but probably her kick earlier. But in front of her, it was best if the door was the problem.
"Serves you right," Xiao Jiang said with no politeness.
Qin Yuqi wasn't angry at all. He just glanced in Xiao Jiang's direction and saw her holding a tattered flowerpot, smiling at him. He shook his head for a moment, then deliberately feigned anger and said, "You dare laugh at me?"
Xiao Jiang ignored him and went inside to find out what was going on.
As soon as she entered, a unique fragrance wafted towards her and immediately captured her attention.
The aroma was incredibly strong, as if it had been burning in this enclosed room for days and nights, yet it wasn't unpleasant; on the contrary, it was quite alluring, making one want to inhale it several times. After a short while, one's sense of smell adapted to this intensity of fragrance, and one felt incredibly comfortable and relaxed in its embrace. The feeling was so wonderful that one unconsciously wanted to immerse oneself in it.
Qin Yuqi entered shortly after and almost immediately smelled the same scent. But this fragrance was one he had never smelled before; it was rich yet not cloying, soft and lingering. Even for someone like him who had been appreciating and using incense for many years, this unique fragrance was of the highest quality.
This guy actually uses better spices than me. I never see him burning incense, but he secretly hides it away to use. Qin Yuqi thought with some dissatisfaction.
Xiao Jiang was captivated by the exotic fragrance, feeling as if he had smelled it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it.
She pinched her nose and continued walking inside. The room wasn't large; apart from the area where the bed and table were placed, the rest of the space was almost completely visible. If someone were hiding here, it would be almost impossible not to notice.
"Now you should give up, right? Your father couldn't possibly be hiding here."
Looking at Qin Yuqi's smug face, Xiao Jiang felt a strong urge to beat him up. The last beating he'd prepared hadn't been lenient enough.
A deep voice suddenly came from the doorway, "I didn't expect that you and this young lady would be so interested in my residence."
Feeling guilty, Xiao Jiang was startled by the sudden sound.
Turning around, I saw a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion standing in the doorway, a stiff smile on his face. He blocked the sunlight from his back, giving off a cold and gloomy aura.
"Why is Mr. Guo back?" Qin Yuqi moved a step towards the door, somewhat awkwardly, and ended up blocking Jia Qianyang and Xiao Jiang.
He led his men to search the house, only to be discovered on the spot by the person in charge. A flicker of panic crossed his mind, but it lasted only a moment before Qin Yuqi quickly regained his composure. He was the crown prince, he was a subject; what did he have to panic about?
Jia Qianyang's eyes swept over the door on the ground and the rickety door on the other side. His gaze spoke volumes—if he didn't come back soon, his house might be torn down.
"The mineral vein has been discovered, so I came back specifically to inform you, young master," Jia Qianyang replied, not saying anything about the mess on the ground, his gaze turning to Xiao Jiang.
Qin Yuqi stepped forward with some dissatisfaction, completely blocking Jia Qianyang's view. "Finding the mine is only a matter of time. The servants can inform you of this. There's no need for you to make a special trip, sir." He glanced back and said to the people behind him, "There are a few other rooms. I'll take you there."
As Qin Yuqi spoke, he stepped out the door, completely disregarding the fact that he was breaking in. His nonchalant attitude influenced Xiao Jiang, who followed Qin Yuqi out the door in a swagger.
The two walked one after the other, heads held high and chests out, showing no sign of guilt whatsoever.
After walking a little further away, Xiao Jiang couldn't help but ask Qin Yuqi, "That door, are we really okay with leaving it alone?"
Regardless, she was essentially an honest child who grew up under Jiang Liuyun's tutelage. In truth, the two had no grudges against each other; at most, she just didn't like the way they were treated. But wasn't it inappropriate to damage other people's property like this?
Qin Yuqi waved his hand dismissively, "No need, the servants will fix it for him quickly."
He wasn't worried about the matter of the gate, but this person was highly valued by his father, and after returning to court, he might complain about him to his father. He would have to find a way to appease him in the future.
Hearing his affirmative answer, Xiao Jiang, the honest man, felt relieved and nodded.
But something just felt off.
The remaining side rooms were no different. Xiao Jiang examined them expressionlessly while racking her brains, trying to figure out if there was something she had overlooked.
A gentle breeze carried the scent emanating from Qin Yuqi into Xiao Jiang's nose—the fragrance of the spices from Mr. Jia's room, now very faint after the scent had diffused. A subtle, peculiar yet familiar aroma, familiar… Xiao Jiang suddenly realized the key—this scent—
She had smelled it at the temple as well.
Because the scent was so unique, she could never be mistaken.
But what kind of place is the temple? It's a sacred place that even ordinary villagers rarely have the opportunity to enter. How could Jiang Liuyun let an outsider like Jia Qianyang go in?
...
If I wasn't invited in, then I could only sneak in.
Does this person hold any secrets? Could he be connected to his father's disappearance?
Qin Yuqi was still leading the way when he noticed that Xiao Jiang had stopped at some point and looked preoccupied. He turned around and walked to her side, asking, "Why did you stop?"
Xiao Jiang shook his head, "I'm not looking anymore. I've already searched all the places I could."
She was certain he was right; her father was indeed not here. She had searched so many rooms, including that gloomy room, but there was no trace of her father's scent.
However, Jia Qianyang is a very suspicious person.
Qin Yuqi seemed to have expected her to do this, and he was no longer angry. Instead, he laughed and said, "Heh, now you should believe me, right?"
Jiang Yuhuo looked up, taking a serious look at this always arrogant and domineering young master for the first time. He was slightly taller than her, always dressed in a magnificent brocade robe, his handsome face still somewhat immature, but his brows occasionally revealed the imposing aura typical of those in power. He was easily angered, but would inexplicably calm down just as quickly. Even though he was clearly in league with Jia Qianyang, he led her to search the rooms of his own people.
He's a strange person too.
"What are you doing, looking at me like that?" Qin Yuqi felt a little embarrassed by her gaze and became uneasy. He didn't know where to look, but his heart started racing unexpectedly.
"I'm going to check out the ore. Do you want to come with me?" Qin Yuqi still didn't look at her directly, but his eyes couldn't help but quickly glance at her a few times, trying to see her expression.
"I'm not going." Xiao Jiang's expression remained unchanged as she calmly refused.
The girl seemed to lose interest in him all at once and left without warning once again.
"Jiang Yuhuo!" Qin Yuqi was both angry and anxious, and suddenly called out to her, "You..." Her words stopped abruptly. Qin Yuqi became inexplicably annoyed, biting her lip, unable to utter the question she wanted to ask.
What exactly does she mean?
Why are you staring at him?
...Why did you stop watching again?
Qin Yuqi watched her retreating figure, gritting his teeth. That idiot, she's utterly despicable!
He wandered aimlessly to the mine shaft. A cave had been carved into the verdant mountainside, looking from a distance like an ugly wound. Just a few days ago, this wound had festered.
A crowd had gathered outside the cave, and some sharp-eyed people had spotted him and made way for him. The supervisor was Liu Dan, the director of the Ministry of Works, a cousin of his mother's, who held a minor official position in the court. His mother had put him in this position, hoping that he would be promoted after completing the task.
Upon hearing the report, Liu Dan emerged from the cave, drenched in sweat and covered in grime, proving he was a capable and efficient worker.
"Young master has arrived. Please come in with me."
Liu Dan led Qin Yuqi into the cave and proudly showed him the minerals on the wall that reflected a deep blue luster.
"Please take a look, young master."
On the fractured rock face, a blue ribbon of light stretched between the rocks until it disappeared into the cliff face. This was the mineral vein they had traveled thousands of miles to find. The veins were hidden very deep, and if they continued to dig, they didn't know how much longer they would find.
This was undoubtedly a tremendous discovery. Previously, to conceal his unease, he had deliberately feigned indifference in front of Jia Qianyang, but now, seeing it for himself, Qin Yuqi couldn't contain his excitement. If all these azurite stones were forged into weapons, would his Great Yong Dynasty still need to fear those remnants of the previous dynasty? Even if they possessed numerous sorcerers, what difference would it make?
The cave was dimly lit, so Qin Yuqi moved closer. Liu Dan immediately called to the craftsmen outside, "Quickly, bring the oil and fire."
Qin Yuqi was focused on examining the ore, but his keen ears caught the key words.
Jiang Yuhuo? She still came.
He was delighted and immediately stood up to look outside. She had said she wouldn't come, but now she was here... to see him? Perfect, let her see for herself. This country bumpkin probably doesn't know anything about blue stone, let alone how precious it is.
A group of people stood outside the cave, but Qin Yuqi searched around and all he could see were unfamiliar and uninteresting faces.
The craftsman came over with a torch, and the servants eagerly held it up beside him to illuminate the way.
"Young master, the oil fire is ready."
Qin Yuqi's smile vanished instantly; he realized he had misheard.
The blue ore shone even brighter in the firelight, but Qin Yuqi could no longer feel excited. His high spirits seemed veiled by a thin layer, and a sense of loss instantly overwhelmed him. She really did hate him; how could she possibly have come?
The servants' torches illuminated the path along the vein to the end of the mine. Qin Yuqi stood before the solid, thick stone wall, his gaze fixed intently on the ore embedded in the mountain. After a long while, Liu Dan, standing beside him, heard his command. The young man's voice was calm and steady, "Continue excavating. At all costs, we must ensure that all the blue stones here are under the control of Dayong."
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