Chapter 16: Seeking Help
Luo Zhaohan brought the letter close to the candlelight. When the flames licked the words "East City Bingmasi", he suddenly remembered the mourning hall in his previous life. General Xie died on the battlefield. On the day when the coffin was carried back to the general's mansion, Aunt Zhang slipped away from the corner door with her dressing box. The white flowers in her hair fell on the bluestone slabs and were trampled into mud by her.
Chunxi was still smacking her lips: "I originally thought she was just a vixen."
"How could someone who has become the cinnabar of General Xie's heart be just a fox charmer?"
Wisps of green smoke rose from the incense burner. Luo Zhaohan leaned against the huanghuali armchair, his fingertips stroking the dark patterns on the letter paper.
Chunxi saw that her young lady had a sneer on her lips. The candlelight cast her shadow on the swastika-patterned window screen, like an owl spreading its wings at night.
"Miss, would you like to order dinner?" Chunxi asked tentatively, but saw Luo Zhaohan suddenly throw the letter on the table, startling the paperweight and making it jump.
"Go to the front yard and recruit twenty palace guards." Luo Zhaohan picked up an iced bayberry. "Ten of them will guard the corner gate of Xie Mansion. The rest..." She suddenly chuckled, "Wait at the tea stall at the entrance of Bingmasi Lane in East City."
Chunxi's eyes suddenly lit up. "I remember that Master Xie loved to wear black arrow sleeves when he was on duty!" She gestured as she spoke, "The other day he rode through the market with that ruby-studded scimitar on his waist."
"Let the loudest person shout 'Miss Liu is in danger,'" Luo Zhaohan interrupted, scratching the letter with his nails. "And send someone nimble enough to squat on the locust tree in Elm Coin Lane—I want to know how many hairs Madam Xie pulled out of Liu Yueli."
As dusk deepened, eight-treasure glazed lamps lit up in the main courtyard of the Wuwei General's Mansion.
Madam Xie lay supine on a brocade couch, her maid gently rubbing her swollen forehead. Nanny Chao rushed in clutching a secret letter, her hair clattering with jewels and jadeite. "Madam! We've discovered Miss Liu's hiding place! It's in the third courtyard of Yuqian Lane in western Beijing!"
"Prepare the car!" Mrs. Xie suddenly opened her eyes and threw the jade earrings at the maid's face.
The clothes hanger shook, and she grabbed the silver fox cloak and rushed out the door. The tip of her embroidered shoes kicked over the charcoal basin, and the silver frost charcoal rolled all over the floor.
There was silence in Aunt Zhang's courtyard.
Nanny Ling stamped her feet anxiously, holding the celadon medicine bottle. "Auntie, aren't you worried? If Young Master Xie marries into the Luo family, we'll have no chance of winning!"
"Go to the Imperial College." Aunt Zhang inserted the twisted hairpin into her bun, the bronze mirror reflecting her indifferent eyebrows and eyes. "Tell the second young master that it's cold these days, so don't go to the training ground to practice archery."
Her fingertips brushed against the secret compartment at the bottom of the dressing table, where lay half a blood-stained jade pendant—the very one that had been torn off when Xie Wuchen fell from his horse three years ago.
Although Matron Ling was puzzled by Aunt Zhang's order, she did not ask any further questions and left.
Only when the surroundings were completely silent did Aunt Zhang slowly exhale a long breath and whisper to herself:
"Miss Luo is truly extraordinary. Who would have thought that she would ultimately gain the upper hand in this deal?"
Even the usually calm Nanny Lian Ling couldn't contain her excitement and loudly declared that she would take action. If there was any movement from Xie Wuqi, wouldn't she be the first one to be suspected when everyone came to their senses?
It was obvious that Miss Luo was the mastermind behind the scenes, but she cleverly kept herself out of it and did not get involved at all.
Aunt Zhang shook her head weakly, but in a flash, a bright light flashed in her beautiful eyes again.
If Miss Luo didn't take action today, she would never stand idly by. This way, her efforts wouldn't be in vain.
Taking the blame once but getting a smart and secretive "ally" in return, this deal is really a good deal.
After all, all she could rely on were the means of those deep mansions. She secretly prayed that Miss Luo would live up to her expectations and bring her surprises in the future!
…
Just as the morning bell of the East City Military Headquarters struck three times, Xie Wuqi's black boots had already stepped over the threshold.
The icicles hanging from the eaves crackled at his feet, looking very much like the jade engagement pendant he had broken that day.
"Thank you, Deputy Commander, for coming early!" Old Captain Wang Tiezhu huddled at the door of the duty room, hugging the heater. The white mist from his mouth obscured the sneer in his eyes.
The young master of the Wuwei general's family broke off the engagement with the daughter of the Luo family for an adopted daughter, and became the latest talk in the teahouses in Beijing.
Xie Wuqi's bullwhip cracked against the table, "Was there any unusual activity at the gambling house in East City last night?"
He stood straight, the beast embroidered on his black official uniform baring its fangs and claws in the morning light. A murmur of laughter could be heard outside the duty room—it must be those old hands gossiping again.
"My lord, everything is calm." Wang Tiezhu drooped his eyelids.
The palms of his hands were red from the heat of the stove, and he suddenly remembered the gossip he heard in the tavern yesterday - on the day when Miss Luo broke off the engagement, she threw the betrothal gifts sent by the Xie family all over the street.
When the sun climbed above the flagpole, the duty room was already crowded with patrolling city guards.
Xie Wuqi clutched the patrol map and was about to speak when he noticed everyone's eyes wandering—they must be looking at the new jade pendant around his waist. It was bought by Yue Li with her six months' worth of savings, and the tassel was frayed to the point of frayed edges.
"We've sent more people to patrol the South City Theater recently. Last time, someone caused trouble and almost got killed!"
Xie Wuqi hadn't finished speaking yet.
"Thank you, sir!" The wooden door of the guardhouse clanged loudly, and a gray-clothed servant came rolling in. "Miss Liu has been tied up in the woodshed of the other courtyard by the Madam. She says she's going to sell her to a brothel!"
The cowhide whip cracked the corner of the table.
"What!" Xie Wuqi was horrified. He kicked over the bench and rushed to the stable. He didn't even bother to fix his official hat which was tilted.
Xie Wuqi's brows were tightly furrowed at this moment, his mind filled with the pitiful and helpless figure of Liu Yueli.
Whenever he thought about how his mother would torture Liu Yueli in order to force him to surrender, he felt anxious inside.
"Sir! You left your post without permission. How are you going to explain this to the commander?" Wang Tiezhu pretended to stop him, but before he could finish his words, the flying snow particles covered his face.
"Please tell the commander that I have urgent matters to attend to!" As soon as Xie Wuqi finished speaking, he kicked the horse's belly suddenly, and the horse galloped away like an arrow, raising a cloud of dust.
Wang Tiezhu wiped his face and looked at Xie Wuqi's miserable appearance as he knocked over a stall at the morning market on his horse. He spat on the ground, "Bah! What a romantic! A Bunny visiting a brothel—what a pretense of infatuation!"
The city patrol guards rushed to the streets with laughter.
A candied haws stand collapsed beside a ditch, and sesame-covered hawthorns rolled into a snowdrift. An old man selling pancakes knelt on the ground picking up copper coins, his official boots crushing his belongings, which he had accumulated for half a year.
…
Xie Wuqi's knuckles turned white as he gripped the reins, and his black cloak rustled as he galloped.
The light from the lanterns of the East City Military Commission gradually faded away. He suddenly reined in his horse, and the horseshoes sent sparks on the bluestone slabs.
Wait!
He had never seen the servant who had just sent the message. How could Yue Li ask a completely unrelated stranger to come and ask for help?
Xie Wuqi's forehead bulged with veins, his father's warning, "If you continue to antagonize the Luo family," still ringing in his ears. But if he turned back to the yamen, what if Yue Li was really in danger...
He suddenly recalled the scene in his previous life, in the depths of winter, when Liu Yueli knelt in the snow, begging for medicine for him. Back then, she was as thin as a piece of paper, yet she persevered for three days and three nights.
And what about Luo Zhaohan? That woman could even break an assassin's wrist with her bare hands!
No matter what, Yueli’s safety is the most important!
"Gee!" Xie Wuqi whipped the horse's buttocks hard, and the horse neighed and rushed towards Yuqian Lane.
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