Tragic death on the main street
Su Xiting's elder brother, the old man who once saved Wu Qi and Yi Shen, died on the main street, in full view of everyone.
The crowd stood silently in a circle, staring regretfully at the old man whose clothes were stained with blood. Only when the Lin family's carriage stopped not far away did the crowd push and shove to make way for him.
As soon as she stepped off the carriage, through the crowd, Wu Qi saw a shocking pool of blood on the spotless main street. She also saw an old man lying on the ground, Su Xiting and He Hua kneeling on the ground, and Song Yinxing standing to the side with a furrowed brow.
Song Yinxing noticed the difference in the crowd and turned to look at Wu Qi.
With just one glance, she thought to herself, "It's over."
Wu Qi's face was devoid of any smile; her usually cheerful eyes were now completely devoid of any warmth. She stared intently at the old man on the ground, her expression calm, and stepped step by step into the place of trouble.
Everyone looked at her, but she ignored them.
The old man's clothes were worn but clean, his cheeks were red and swollen and bleeding, and blood kept flowing from his chest, wetting his newly severed fingers.
It is unclear whether he was first struck on the face with a knife, or punched several times before the sword pierced his heart and killed him.
"Who killed him?" Wu Qi asked.
Song Yinxing shook her head slightly; she didn't know who had killed her either.
When Lin Kuo saw that there were too many people at this place, she was about to tell them to take a detour when she suddenly saw Su Xiting and He Hua stumbling through the crowd. She realized that something was wrong. After getting out of the car and taking a look, she immediately told Lin Kuo to go back to Cizi Pavilion to pick up Wu Qi and Yi Shen.
Song Yinxing didn't know who killed the old man, nor did Su Xiting and Hehua. The old man took a few taels of silver and said that he hadn't been back to the capital for a long time and had some free time today, so he wanted to take a stroll around the capital.
Su Xiting knew that he missed his previous shop, so she went with him. Little did she know that this departure would take her far away from the world.
With so many people coming and going on the main street, someone must have seen who killed the old man, and someone must have witnessed the whole story. However, no one answered Wu Qi's question from earlier.
Up to this point, no one from the government had come over, and everyone remained silent. Not only did no one dare to speak, but no one dared to report it to the authorities.
Yi Shen and Lin Kuo exchanged a glance. The former ordered someone to report to the authorities and, if possible, invite Lord Li Xi to come. The latter sent someone home to inform his elders.
Amidst the silence of at least several dozen people, a childish voice rang out—"It was one person who led a large group of people to kill this old man."
Wu Qi turned around and looked at the crowd following the sound. He saw the parents covering their daughter's mouth tightly, as if their daughter had said something outrageous. They repeatedly defended their daughter, saying, "She's talking nonsense. She's only seven or eight years old. She likes to talk nonsense. She doesn't know who killed her."
The seven- or eight-year-old girl, still holding an unfinished candied hawthorn, struggled free from her parents' hands, put her hands on her hips, and said somewhat indignantly, "I'm not making this up! Seven or eight is quite old! I saw that group of people kill this old man! As Confucius said, no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, and if you make a mistake, you should correct it. Killing is wrong, and you should correct it!"
"What are you saying!" Her father hugged her tightly.
The mother covered her mouth tightly, saying in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Children say the darndest things, she's just talking nonsense, please don't take it to heart! Don't overthink it! She doesn't know anything!" After saying that, she hurriedly pulled her husband and daughter away.
The only person in the know who spoke up left, and everyone hesitated and looked at Wu Qi in silence. Wu Qi didn't care about these gazes. She squatted down without making any move, her eyes fixed on the old man's severed finger.
That was an index finger.
It was cut in half and carelessly thrown onto the old man.
Now, he has four fingers on each of his hands.
When Li Xi arrived, this was the scene he saw: Wu Qi squatting beside the old man, silent.
Li Xi stood silently in the crowd for a moment before stepping forward and sending people to disperse them. Once there were no more people around, she squatted down and whispered to Wu Qi, "I'm sorry."
Wu Qi stiffened, then said knowingly, "For the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to apologize, that person must be no ordinary person."
Li Xi then said, "I'm sorry."
Wu Qi stood up, patted his clothes, and said, "Everyone has their own difficulties, Lord Li, there's no need to apologize. Since the deceased is an unrelated person, I will take him with me."
Li Xi stood up, stepped back, and bowed to the old man.
That night, the Wu family mansion was brightly lit. Elders and children of the aristocratic families gathered in the family's mourning hall. Even Ning Chanyuan, who rarely went out, came. Ning Xunxu stood beside her and draped a cloak over her shoulders, worried that she might catch a cold and that her weak body might not be able to withstand the gloom of the mourning hall.
Ning Chanyuan glanced at him and said, "Don't be rude."
The elders all looked unwell, with Qi Kong and Wen Ru being the worst off. He had traveled a long way to the capital to deliver the news and save their children in Pingwu City. They should have treated him with courtesy and gratitude, but he died less than a month after arriving in the capital.
Wen Ru cursed, "I can guess who did it!"
Qi Kongdao said, "He is probably the only one who dares to act so lawlessly in the capital."
Although neither of them mentioned their names, Wu Qi understood who they were referring to.
Wei Luanhua.
Wei Luanhua, son of General Wei.
Su Xiting and Hehua were cleaning the old man's face, styling his hair, trimming his nails, and changing his burial clothes. Meanwhile, the fine coffin had just arrived. The summoner who had come to summon the soul took the old man's blood-stained clothes and climbed onto the roof. He called out the old man's name three times and then covered the old man's body with the blood-stained clothes.
After waiting for a while, the old man did not move.
The soul summoner said, "When a person dies, they enter the Yellow Springs. We set out a meal for them to eat after they die and light a lamp to guide their soul to the Yellow Springs."
The servant inserted the prepared sorghum stalks into the undercooked rice, and the soul summoner lit the soul-guiding lamp.
Su Xiting refused to keep vigil and wrapped the body in clothes overnight. He moved the old man's body into the coffin, took the silver coins and rice handed to him by Hehua, and put them into the old man's mouth.
The old man had no children, so Su Xiting refused the Taoist ritual and instead used a soul-guiding talisman to lead the way.
The aristocratic family followed closely behind.
The coffin was placed in the mortar, and a mound of earth was erected to mark the entrance.
Su Xiting knelt before the stele, remaining motionless for a long time. Hehua, seeing the faint light of dawn and knowing that everyone had been up all night, hurriedly urged them to return to their residences to rest.
On the way, Wenru sent someone to Cizi Pavilion to ask for leave for these people, and also specially instructed: "Xiaoqi has always been loyal and righteous, and this hurdle may be difficult for her. Please ask for two more days off for her so that she can rest well."
The maidservant was ordered to leave.
"What's wrong?" Wen Ru glanced at Yi Shen standing to the side, knowing full well what was going on, and asked, "What is it?"
Yi Shen said, "Tonight, I would like to stay at the Witch's Mansion."
"Go on, go on, spend some time with Xiao Qi." Wen Ru waved her hand, letting him go.
Yi Shen nodded, watched his two elder brothers and sister-in-law leave with Wen Ru before turning around to find Wu Qi.
Wu Qi did not leave with the others. She stood in front of the tombstone, staring at the blank stele, and heard He Hua say, "Xi Ting is not his biological brother. He is the brother he picked up. Xi Ting said before that he was thin and short back then and was always bullied. His brother couldn't stand it. He was saddened when he saw the injuries on his body, so he spent a lot of money to send him to learn swordsmanship."
"Xi Ting said back then that he wanted to learn swordsmanship to protect his brother's shop."
Su Xiting learned swordsmanship primarily to protect the shop of his savior, but unexpectedly, the shop was gone, and so was the man.
Wu Qi said, "He is also my savior, and I will avenge him."
“Forget it, more and more people will just die.” Hehua sighed. “Xiting and I want to leave the capital. I’m tired of this place where everyone is so concerned with hierarchy. We want to leave immediately, preferably right now.”
“Okay,” Wu Qi said.
Su Xiting and He Hua had discussed this matter long ago, intending to take the old man away from the capital for some time, even to a remote border town, as long as the three of them were still alive. Fortunately, they had some savings and could open another shop for the old man in the place where the three of them settled down.
Now that there's one less person, the trip has been moved up a bit.
Su Xiting kowtowed three times heavily in front of the tombstone. Wu Qi and He Hua also bowed to the tombstone. The three of them walked to the foot of the mountain and saw Yi Shen standing outside the green hills, among various wildflowers.
In the distance, a carriage was approaching them.
Yi Shen said, "If you want to leave the capital, take a carriage."
Su Xiting tugged at Hehua's sleeve, and Hehua said on his behalf, "Thank you for taking care of Xiting these past few years, young master." After saying that, Hehua then said to Wu Qi, "Thank you for taking care of me these past few years, young lady."
"You flatter me. I should thank Uncle Su for teaching me swordsmanship," Yi Shen said.
Su Xiting shook his head, indicating that there was no need to thank him, and then gestured with his hands, saying, "Your talent is superior to mine."
He Hua also said, "The lady's talent is also superior to mine."
Wu Qi shook her head, not caring about talent. She said, "If you want to go back to the capital, you can come back; if you don't want to come back, then don't."
He Hua smiled and said, "No need to thank me. It's boring to keep thanking each other."
As the carriage approached, Yi Shen stepped aside to make way for them, saying, "The carriage and horses are ready, and there is plenty of food."
After saying their goodbyes, Hehua and Su Xiting boarded the carriage. They noticed several wooden crates piled in a corner; opening them revealed they contained their belongings from their stays at the Wu and Yi residences over the past few years. Preparing the carriage and packing their luggage in such a short time…
Not only were the wooden crates stacked neatly, but the luggage inside was also very organized, and some small items bought in their spare time were carefully wrapped in soft cloth.
Young Master Yi is indeed a thoughtful and meticulous person.
However, the carriage had already started moving. Hehua lifted the curtain and could only see two figures standing in the distance, watching them quietly. It wasn't until the two figures became smaller and smaller that Su Xiting noticed there was another wooden box inside the first one. However, this box was smaller. He tugged at Hehua's sleeve, exchanged a glance with her, and then opened the smaller box.
The wooden chest was filled to the brim with gold and silver jewels, enough for the two of them to squander for a lifetime.
"Did Yi Shen put a note in the wooden box?" Wu Qi asked.
"Too late," Yi Shen replied.
After hearing Aunt Hehua say, "Leave the capital immediately," he immediately went down the mountain and instructed his servants and maids to pack Su Xiting and Hehua's luggage, prepare a carriage, and also told them to prepare gold and silver jewelry.
The servant asked, "How much gold and silver jewelry?"
Yi Shen replied, "A life free from worries is enough."
Wu Qi knew why Yi Shen was in such a hurry to prepare a carriage to send Su Xiting and He Hua away from the capital. First, because Wei Luanhua was arrogant and ruthless, and if he dared to kill an old man in the street today, he might dare to kill Su Xiting and He Hua in the street tomorrow. Second, because Su Xiting would seek revenge on Wei Luanhua, and he was unlikely to be able to defeat Wei Luanhua's highly skilled subordinates.
"I'm so tired, Yi Shen, I want to go back to sleep," Wu Qi said.
“Okay, I’ll go with you,” Yi Shen said.
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