Chapter 134 Between the Clouds (Twenty-Four) His tone was gentle, almost pleading. ...
"Have you spoken to Xiaojun? When is she returning to the capital?" Behind the screen, Ling Zifu put down his wine cup and sighed, "It's a pity I haven't spoken to her yet... In my memory, she was still an infant, and now she has grown into such a beautiful young woman. If it weren't for the fact that she looks somewhat like my aunt, I almost wouldn't have recognized her."
He caught a glimpse of her on the street yesterday; her features were clear and serene, yet she seemed to radiate the warmth of the sun. Ling Zifu was startled and immediately sent a message to Su Du.
It wasn't until he saw Zhi Rou with his own eyes that he was certain she had truly come to Qinyang. Recalling the unpleasantness that had just occurred, Su Du frowned slightly and said, "She refuses to return to the capital, and may even try to sneak into the Ling family mansion tomorrow under the pretext of the wedding banquet. I beg my cousin to stop her and prevent her from causing any trouble."
Ling Zifu said, "Actually, even if we tell my aunt about what happened, she might not be hurt. After all, it wasn't her fault."
Su didn't answer that question: "How's the other matter, cousin?"
Ling Zifu's eyes held a hint of a probing smile as he picked up a piece of deer tendon with his chopsticks and placed it in Su Du's bowl. He then withdrew his hand and straightened his sleeves. "Ah Chen," he said, "I've offended all my uncles for your sake. How do you intend to repay this debt of gratitude?"
As a junior, Ling Zifu was naturally unaware of what had happened back then. The Chang Yu case had remained unmentioned in the Ling family for years. In his investigation of Han Rui, he had spent days going back and forth among his uncles, and every few words inevitably touched upon the Chang family. Now, those uncles avoided him altogether.
Su Du stared at him for a moment, a carefree smile playing on his lips, and raised his wine cup: "When the day comes that my family's grudge is avenged, I am willing to serve the Fifth Young Master with this body. Even if it is the Asura Hell, I will brave it if the Fifth Young Master gives the order."
Ling Zifu laughed heartily: "You said it yourself."
He placed his hands on the table, composed himself, and said, “The person Han Rui recommended to the general back then was surnamed Song, and it seems he was from the same hometown as Han Rui in Changxi. This man was exceptionally talented, and with just a few strokes of his pen, he could greatly boost the morale of the army. In the past, many of the proclamations issued by the general during his campaigns were written by him, and he was deeply trusted by the general.”
"The Song family of Changxi," Su Du murmured, frowning. "Is there nothing else?"
"You still think it's not enough? Why don't you come with me to my house and ask Grandfather yourself?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the person opposite him turned pale.
Ling Zifu realized he had spoken out of turn, lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment before asking again, "A case from over a decade ago, I'm afraid that as the investigation progresses, all the clues will run dry and the truth will be lost. Have you ever considered that in the end, it might all be for nothing? Are you really willing to accept that?"
"If we can find even one or two clues, how can we say we've come up empty-handed? If we know there's an injustice but hesitate to act, then we've truly wasted our lives."
Zhi Rou and Wei Yuanzhan entered the building, where they were greeted by the same waiter who had come earlier. Seeing them return, he assumed they hadn't finished their conversation with the young master upstairs, and tried to lead them into the original private room.
Just as he was about to lead the way, the boy stepped aside, blocked his way, and smiled, "It's just going upstairs, you can go ahead and do your work, no need to trouble yourself."
Before the waiter could answer, the girl beside him shrugged her chin and followed him up the steps.
The millet grove was originally a place for serving the nobles of Qinyang, so anyone who could spend money here must be of high status. Although the waiter didn't recognize the two men, he didn't dare to offend them, and could only inform the shop owner, keeping a watchful eye on them.
The private room in Su Du was located at the far end on the west side. As Zhi Rou walked, her gaze fell on the people outside the door next door, slowly sizing them up. The four men were well-dressed, with their hair tied up and wearing jade ornaments; they were clearly well-trained retainers of a noble family.
As Zhi Rou passed by them, she deliberately slowed her pace. The door was blurry, and she couldn't see what was inside, but not a single sound of clothing fluttering could be heard, indicating that no one was there.
If Ling Wu wasn't among them, what were these bodyguards guarding outside the gate for?
In a brief moment, it suddenly occurred to her that Qinyang was the territory of the Ling family. Su Xun had managed to find her residence within a day; surely he possessed extraordinary abilities? The Ling family, Ling Wu…
Zhi Rou's heart suddenly raced, and she turned her gaze back to the present, taking steps forward.
When she reached the far west end, she hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and knocked on the door again. A slight sound came from inside.
After a while, the door opened from the inside, revealing Zhao Xun's astonished face: "...Miss?" His voice rose a little, "Why have you come?"
Zhi Rou's gaze swept over him, and she saw Su Du turn around from behind the screen, looking at her directly.
The blazing sun was filtered through the window screen, making the room seem as if it were covered with a layer of water, exuding a lazy afternoon atmosphere.
After a moment of silence, Zhi Rou's voice filled the air: "Have I disturbed you?"
Su Du shook his head and took two steps closer to her: "Why did you turn back? Is it because you forgot something?"
Zhi Rou glanced around and continued walking, but he grabbed her arm. She stumbled back a couple of times and turned to look at him: "What, brother, is there someone else in this room?"
The word "brother" slipped from her lips, and Su Du was slightly taken aback, not noticing that his grip loosened a little. After a moment, he replied, "No, not at the moment, but we will have a distinguished guest arriving later. If it's not urgent, perhaps I should come to see you myself later?"
Zhi Rou pushed his hand away: "What kind of distinguished guest is he? I'd like to meet him too." With that, she sat down in a seat by the window.
She was quick-witted and difficult to deal with; Su Du had experienced this firsthand during his three years on the grasslands. Since he couldn't get rid of her, he simply rolled up his sleeves, went over to open the window, and then sat down beside her: "Did you eat before you left? The aroma of the roasted mutton here is enticing; you should try some."
A mingled scent wafted by the window. Zhi Rou glanced at him suspiciously. The initial confrontation was blown away by the wind, and she became more patient.
She turned to look at Wei Yuanzhan, and he caught a glimpse of her. That cold, wary demeanor was just like when they met again in Lancheng. He took the opportunity to say, "Young Master Wei, please come and sit down."
Two people with mutual prejudices sat down at a table. Partly out of courtesy and partly out of consideration for Zhirou, they both restrained their sharp tongues and refrained from arguing.
Zhao Xun closed the door and went out. After a while, the waiter from the building came in carrying several wooden trays. Steam rose from the copper trays, the soup simmered, and the aroma was enticing.
Su Du asked, "Why has the Crown Prince of Wei also come to Qinyang?"
Wei Yuanzhan was about to drink his tea when he heard him speak. He put down his teacup and said, "I was passing through here on my way to do something for the Sage."
"What a coincidence?"
The porcelain bowl shimmered dazzlingly in the sunlight. Wei Yuanzhan's lips curled slightly as he looked at Su Du: "Yes."
It seemed to be echoing his guess.
Su Du held the wine cup in his hand, and after a while, he raised it and drank it all in one gulp.
A commotion arose downstairs; the old storyteller had been invited into the restaurant. Zhi Rou glanced sideways out the window, then her gaze returned to the enamel folding screen inside the room.
The screen divided the room into two sides, and she was very curious about what was hidden behind it.
"How did my brother find me?" she asked abruptly.
Su Du stared at that calm and composed face, and the reason given was flawless: "Your clothes are flamboyant, and my men saw you at the gathering."
He looked away and pushed the platter containing the sheep's tripe toward her. "Think about returning to the capital again."
"Brother, do you not want to see me?" Zhi Rou smiled, her eyes lowered, and picked up two slices of lamb tripe with her chopsticks and placed them in her bowl. Before he could reply, she continued, "If it were just to investigate a case, why would I be in such a hurry to go to Qinyang?"
Su was unable to recover from her sudden change in attitude for a long time. Regardless of how much of what she said was true, he felt a sense of guilt from the bottom of his heart.
Because of the presence of outsiders, he became even more reserved, casting a complicated look at the wine cup before finally saying, "If you want to stay in Qinyang, then so be it."
His tone was indifferent again. Zhi Rou bit her lip and didn't speak to him again. While eating, she rested and chatted with Wei Yuanzhan.
The two exchanged greetings, and Su, sitting opposite them, realized he couldn't utter a single word. After a while, he grew somewhat bored.
The sunlight streaming into the room shifted and changed shape, with a patch falling on Su Du's hand, making her newly healed skin appear slightly pinkish-white.
He twitched his knuckles, about to urge Zhi Rou on, when he was suddenly told by her, "Aren't you tired of sitting so quietly like this?"
Her gaze was fixed on the screen, as if she were asking someone else, not the person in front of her.
"The distinguished guest you spoke of, brother, has not yet arrived." Zhi Rou stood up, straightened her sleeves, and said, "I have some other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now. Thank you for your hospitality today, brother."
Su had long since lost interest in dealing with her, and upon hearing this, he stood up and said, "I'll see you off."
As Zhi Rou's hand fell, whether intentionally or unintentionally, her sachet was caught on her sleeve and fell to the ground. Wei Yuanzhan, who was standing up, accidentally knocked her sachet several steps away.
He made a move to pick it up, but Su Du stopped him. Zhi Rou took the opportunity to stroll over, bent down to pick it up, and straightened up. She was already standing behind the folding screen.
It was clear that there was another table of roasted lamb behind the screen, with two sets of tableware, but no one was there. No wonder the window was opened earlier; it was to let the lingering smell dissipate.
Zhi Rou patted the sachet in her hand and looked around. There wasn't much noise inside. The window was closed, and behind the dining table was a daybed hidden by a curtain. Presumably, the Fifth Young Master was still in the room, just hiding.
As a scion of a prominent family, further advance would inevitably offend him. Zhi Rou then stopped and did not venture any further.
Seeing that she had succeeded, Wei Yuanzhan silently pursed his lips, stepped back a little, and separated from Su Du.
Overjoyed, Zhi Rou's smile became genuine. She hung the sachet back on her waist, walked up to Su Du, and stopped.
Su Du's figure blocked out a large portion of the sunlight, but her eyes shone brightly with a smile, revealing an untamed spirit. She whispered, "Thank you, brother."
He paused, his palms clenched, and he tried his best to smile as he watched her and Wei Yuanzhan walk out of the room.
The door closed, the beaded curtain fluttered, and footsteps approached from behind the screen. A light laugh rang out: "If she hadn't kept calling me 'brother,' I would have thought some T family girl had come to collect a debt. You two siblings... why does your conversation sound like a cryptic exchange?"
Su Du frowned deeply, walked back to his seat, and took a sip of cold tea. After calming down, he looked at Ling Zifu and said, "Cousin, please keep your promise to me."
The request was for him to find a way to stop Xiao Jun from entering the Ling residence.
Ling Zifu and Su Du exchanged a glance. A noble young man, trying to avoid his cousin, had his hair ornament askew and was disheveled from head to toe, which ironically made him somewhat amused.
He lifted his shirt and sat down opposite Su Du, giving a completely irrelevant reply: "Xiao Nan is much more interesting than you."
Stepping outside, it started to drizzle, while the sun was still shining overhead, and the raindrops resembled wisps of smoke.
Zhi Rou was led onto the carriage by Wei Yuanzhan. She wiped her brow bone, leaned back, and looked rather lazy.
Recalling the cunning she had tried so hard to hide in front of Su Du, Wei Yuanzhan suddenly smiled, his clear gaze falling on her. After a moment, he moved his gaze slightly downwards and said, "What's in that embroidered pouch of yours? It seems quite substantial."
Zhi Rou responded, lowered her eyes and pulled off the sachet, saying absentmindedly, "Not long after I left the camp that day, someone secretly followed me. I took this from someone."
Wei Yuanzhan frowned: "What do you mean?"
Her original intention was not to tell Wei Yuanzhan about this. But now that the matter had come to this point, she was unwilling to hide it from him, and leaned forward slightly: "Someone wants to kill me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wei Yuanzhan's expression tensed up. Before he could speak, she grabbed his hand tightly and said jokingly, "What are you doing? I didn't lift your collar last night."
His hand didn't go towards her neck. Hearing her teasing tone, he slowly frowned. Zhi Rou touched his wrist and let go, saying, "I'm fine, I'm all better now."
Seeing that he didn't quite believe it, she added, "It's true. I still have more than ten guards sent by my father by my side. Even if the King of Hell himself came, he couldn't hurt me."
"Nonsense," Wei Yuanzhan thought. He had seen the faint scar on her forehead last night, but she had also bumped into one when she was young, so it wasn't very noticeable. And with her hair covering it, he thought he was seeing things for a moment.
His gaze was fixed intently on her, as if he were scrutinizing something.
Zhi Rou told him about her experiences along the way, including what happened in Yuanzhou.
Speaking of Zhang Fenglin, she murmured, "That General Zhang is really quite strange... If he is in cahoots with the people who are chasing me, why didn't he attack me? If he is not an accomplice, why did he torture and kill the people I captured?"
“Zhang Fenglin…” Wei Yuanzhan murmured, remembering that he was the son of Zhang Yi, the Vice Minister of Revenue. A scandal involving him once caused a great uproar in the capital, after which he joined the army, thus distancing himself from the rest of the Zhang family.
Regardless of age or background, he didn't seem like someone who could be involved in the Chang family's past, let alone know about Rou's background.
Could his actions in Yuanzhou have been a coincidence?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Wei Yuanzhan broke it in two, his mind immediately turning to the Ministry of Revenue.
Most of the officials under Sun Siren were promoted by him, bound by a bond of gratitude and loyalty, and entangled by personal gain and fame. As a result, they obeyed his orders without question.
Zhang Fenglin is the eldest son of Zhang, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. His strange behavior suggests that he may also be involved with Sun Siren.
Wei Yuanzhan was silent for a moment, then made up his mind that he would definitely meet this Minister when he returned to the capital.
The carriage swayed gently, the half-drawn curtain rising and falling, letting in varying shades of light that bathed Wei Yuanzhan's face. His expression suggested he was plotting something.
Zhi Rou raised an eyebrow slightly: "You and he are old acquaintances?"
Wei Yuanzhan said he wasn't familiar with her, but under her curious gaze, he backed down and asked, "What are your plans next?"
Zhi Rou pondered for a moment, then her lowered eyelashes fluttered again as she looked at Wei Yuanzhan. She wondered, he was indeed leaving the capital on imperial orders, so how many days could he possibly stay in Qinyang?
If he hadn't come, it wouldn't have been so hard to leave something that hadn't happened yet. But they had just met last night, and their joy hadn't faded yet; they were reluctant to let him go.
Sorrow grew invisibly, and she couldn't help but calculate how much time they still had left to spend together.
When are you going back to the capital?
Wei Yuanzhan was slightly taken aback by the sudden remark.
Although he was too badly injured to travel and needed to stay in the north to recuperate, he couldn't linger too long, as he would need to return as quickly as possible. But now that he knew she was in danger, how could he leave in peace?
Through half the car, Wei Yuanzhan's gaze, like a clear mountain stream, gently enveloped her: "I won't go back to the capital, okay?"
His tone was gentle, like a discussion, yet also like a plea.
His expression was serious, and Zhi Rou held her breath under his gaze, pausing for a moment. Her heart was churning with excitement, and despite her efforts to restrain herself, she didn't look away, finally managing a smile.
"I'll have to go back eventually, Wei Yuanzhan, don't worry."
He looked at her intently, and before he knew it, he leaned closer and gently touched her forehead, a helpless smile playing on his lips: "Someone as smart as you, what kind of person would constantly worry about you?"
An unusual flush rose to Zhi Rou's cheeks. She turned her head away two inches and whispered, "Someone not as smart as me."
Upon hearing this, Wei Yuanzhan forcefully turned her chin back, raising his eyebrows and questioning, "Are you talking about me?"
Author's Note: I've been trying to adjust my sleep schedule lately, so my writing speed has slowed down again... QAQ
I still want to express my sincere gratitude to all the readers for your long-term support; I feel somewhat ashamed. I will definitely work harder and finish writing it as soon as possible!
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