Chapter 65 Blueprints "What? Xiao Qiyu is missing?"
When Cui Ying woke up, it was already sunset.
As dusk fell, the afterglow shone through the window lattice, bathing the furnishings in a rich, warm apricot yellow, creating a tranquil atmosphere that made one feel serene and empty.
Cui Ying was still tipsy, her cheeks flushed from her sleep. When she opened her eyes, she felt her mouth was dry and her temples were throbbing. She couldn't help but groan and complain about her headache.
Cui Jin hurried to the small kitchen and brought out a bowl of hot and sour soup that had been warmed up. The hot, sour, and fragrant aroma instantly dispelled the lingering smell of alcohol in the room.
Cui Ying took small sips from Cui Jin's hand and finished the bowl of soup. A warm feeling rose from her stomach, soothing her limbs and bones. Her muddled mind cleared up a lot, and her scattered thoughts gradually came together.
She remembered some fragmented pieces.
In the garden at midday, the hibiscus flowers were in full bloom. She pulled Qin Wan to drink and celebrate the abolition of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution). However, Qin Wan didn't seem to drink much, only smilingly urging her to drink. So, one cup of wine after another ended up in her own stomach.
Before long, she felt the world spinning and her vision blurring.
Later, she could no longer hold on and slumped onto the chaise lounge by the window.
In her hazy state, she seemed to hear Qin Wan's soft voice asking in her ear, "Sister-in-law, it's mealtime now, and I suppose Seventh Brother hasn't eaten yet. Why don't we put away the leftover food and take it to the front study?"
Cui Ying's eyelids were so heavy she couldn't lift them. She felt the sound was disturbing her sleep, so she waved her hand haphazardly and mumbled, "Whatever, just leave me alone." Then she turned her head and fell asleep.
Recalling this moment, Cui Ying rubbed her still slightly throbbing temples, her almond-shaped eyes still sleepy.
Seeing her lost in thought, Cui Jin asked softly, "What are you thinking about, Miss? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Cui Ying frowned, feeling a vague sense of unease rising in her heart, and said, "Give me another bowl of soup, I'm not fully awake yet."
Cui Jin laughed and said, "You're not not fully awake, you're just hungry."
After saying this, he summoned a maid and ordered the kitchen to prepare the meal.
After the hot food was served, Cui Ying enjoyed a good meal and felt refreshed. The vague and inexplicable feeling of unease in her heart was completely dispelled.
She returned to her carefree and happy self, then went to reread the storybooks she had found, and didn't go to sleep again until the wee hours of the morning.
The next morning, Cui Ying, unusually early, made a special trip to the Bodhi Hall to pay his respects to the old lady.
The autumn air was cool, and the dew had not yet dried, making the flowers and plants in the garden appear exceptionally fresh.
Cui Ying walked briskly through the covered walkway. Just after rounding a rockery, she saw Xiao Qiyu talking with a refined-looking middle-aged man dressed in a gray robe in the pavilion ahead.
She recognized the man at a glance as Xiao Wan's father, Xiao Yuanshou, her third uncle who worked in the Ministry of War.
Inside the pavilion, Xiao Qiyu's expression was unusually serious as he unfolded a scroll of annotated map of southern Jiangxi and explained it to Xiao Yuanshou.
Cui Ying had no intention of listening to their conversation, and quickened her pace slightly.
Xiao Yuanshou's voice, however, drifted clearly into her ears without warning:
"Qiyu, your intentions are good, but these matters of fighting, killing, and troop deployment are for the generals of the court and the staff in the government offices to worry about."
Xiao Yuanshou's voice carried the tolerant, slightly dismissive tone typical of an elder: "You should be a good young master of the Xiao family, behave yourself, and stay by your grandmother's side. That's the right thing to do. You don't need to interfere in other matters."
Cui Ying couldn't help but stop and look at Xiao Qiyu's face.
Through the swaying treetops, one could see the boy's thin lips pressed tightly together, his jaw clenched, and the once bright light in his eyes gradually dimming, like stars being slowly obscured by dark clouds.
However, that dimness lasted only a moment.
Cui Ying could clearly see that deep in his eyes, something even harder and more stubborn seemed to be breaking through the soil.
Xiao Qiyu did not argue, but slowly put the map away, clenched it tightly, and his knuckles turned slightly white from the force.
Then, he raised his eyes, looked calmly at his third uncle, said nothing more, nodded slightly, bowed, and turned to leave.
Cui Ying watched Xiao Qiyu's retreating figure. The morning dew dampened his hair ribbon, and a chilling aura lingered around him.
Cui Jin then said, "If you're worried, why don't you go after them and ask?"
"I'm worried about him? I'm not worried about him at all." Cui Ying immediately looked away, turned around and walked towards the Bodhi Hall, her steps quick and hurried.
As the sun sets and the moon rises, night falls.
Cui Ying tossed and turned on the couch, unable to fall asleep. Every time she opened or closed her eyes, she saw Xiao Qiyu's lonely figure from the daytime.
Just as she was so upset that she was almost counting sheep, a low but hurried voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard, followed by Cui Jin's slightly panicked footsteps.
"Girl, girl!"
Cui Jin pushed open the door and came in, her face pale: "Jin Feng is here. He's standing outside the courtyard gate. He asked if my husband is here. He said that my husband is missing. He and Yu Lu have searched everywhere they can, except for Qiyun Pavilion."
"What? Xiao Qiyu is missing?"
Cui Ying sat up, complaining, "How could a grown man like him get lost?" He slipped on his soft shoes, grabbed an outer robe and put it on, then instructed Cui Jin, "Go and call Jin Feng in."
A moment later, Jin Feng was brought in, her face full of anxiety and her forehead covered in sweat. Seeing Cui Ying was like seeing a savior. She was so anxious that she could hardly speak: "Young Madam! My lord rode out this morning without anyone with him or saying where he was going. He hasn't returned yet. I know my lord's character well. He has never stayed out all night like this before. Today is really abnormal!"
Jin Feng was trembling as he spoke.
It's understandable. In the old lady's eyes, Xiao Qiyu was like her lifeline. If anything happened to him, none of the people who served him would be spared. It would be a miracle if they could even save their own lives.
Cui Ying instructed Cui Jin to pour Jin Feng a cup of hot tea, and told him to sit down and drink the tea first, while she rested her chin on her hand and pondered.
She was lively by nature and young, and even after getting married, she was always seen as an innocent young girl by everyone, both inside and outside the family.
In the flickering lamplight and tense atmosphere, only she remained calm and composed. Her noble and dignified aura instantly emanated from her, like a curtain enveloping everyone, seemingly possessing an invisible power of reassurance that comforted each and every one of them.
"Prepare the horses and harness the carriage."
As the candlelight flickered, Cui Ying looked up and said, "I know where he is."
...
The night was as dark as ink, and the Ministry of War was quiet and still, except for one guardhouse where a light was still on.
Wang Shaolin, a senior official in the Ministry of War, sat on a bench with two clerks and a chief clerk beside him. The men yawned incessantly, forcing their eyelids open as they looked at the tall and handsome young man in front of them.
Xiao Qiyu stood before a makeshift wooden table, on which lay his meticulously annotated map of the mountains and forests of southern Jiangxi. His knuckles pointed to several strategic passes and important roads, his voice clear and steady:
“Southern Jiangxi borders the Nanling and Wuyi Mountains, which are characterized by high mountains, dense forests, numerous caves, and rugged roads. Bandits often built their dens in strategically important locations, making it difficult for government troops to deploy, resulting in long supply lines and easy ambushes. This was the primary reason for the failures in bandit suppression in previous years.”
"Secondly, as far as I know, the center of the bandit problem was located at the junction of the four provinces of Hubei and Hunan. The officers and soldiers of each province often only guarded their own borders and were unwilling to cross the border to pursue and suppress them. This led to the bandits taking advantage of the provincial borders to move around and escape into the mountains and forests of Guangxi after the Guangdong case, leaving the government troops helpless. This is an important reason."
"Therefore, the most urgent task for the imperial court is not to concentrate its forces to launch a fierce attack on the bandit stronghold, but to unify the military and political affairs of the four provinces, so that it can freely mobilize the forces of the four provinces to carry out a full-scale crackdown, and make the suppression of bandits no longer restricted by provincial boundaries—"
On the candlestick, a tiny flame leaped back and forth, its light reflecting in the boy's dark eyes, burning intensely.
Xiao Qiyu's eyes were clear, his voice was strong, and his expression was mature and solemn beyond his years.
Wang Shaolin nodded, yawning incessantly, and began discussing with those around him what to get for a late-night snack.
Xiao Qiyu's voice stopped abruptly, a barely perceptible hint of anger in it: "Lord Wang, are you even listening to me?"
“I’m listening,” Wang Shaolin leaned to the side, resting his head on his subordinate’s shoulder, and smiled. “Don’t keep calling me Lord Wang, it’s too formal. Call me cousin.”
Wang Shaolin's biological father, Wang Shanxiao, was Xiao Qiyu's maternal uncle.
Xiao Qiyu frowned, his expression turning serious: "Lord Wang, regarding the deployment of troops for bandit suppression, I still have one..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Wang Shaolin finally couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted him almost with a wail, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. "We've been talking since this morning, it's been a whole day! My eyelids are about to give way. How about this, let's not just sit here and wait it out. I know a night market stall at the alley ahead that has amazing mutton soup with flatbread. Let's eat and chat at the same time?"
Xiao Qiyu remained motionless and said calmly, "I'm not hungry."
Wang Shaolin said with a bitter face, "You're not hungry, but I am. How about this, you go back first, and I'll go fill my stomach. We can talk about it tomorrow... no, another day."
After saying that, he actually got up and was about to leave.
"Lord Wang!" Xiao Qiyu called out to him urgently, "I am serious. This matter concerns the livelihood of the people of Nangan and is not a trivial matter."
Wang Shaolin stopped at the door, turned his back to him, and remained silent for a moment. When he turned around again, the perfunctory smile on his face had faded, replaced by an expression that was a mixture of weariness and an elder's admonition.
"Brother, I'm serious too."
He sighed, his tone becoming more serious: "Go home now, get a good night's sleep, and put aside all these things—the terrain, the bandits, the military strategies—for now. Listen to me, these are not things you should be worrying about."
Seeing that Xiao Qiyu's lips were about to move as if he wanted to retort, he raised his hand to stop him, his tone carrying a hint of worldly-wise helplessness: "Do you think that the way you can think of to centralize power and coordinate resources across four provinces is something that the officials in the court can't think of? Many years ago, at the beginning of the bandit suppression, His Majesty had already issued an edict ordering all regions to cooperate, but how many interests and how many complexities are involved? There's nothing new under the sun, my good brother, the waters here are very deep, and it's not something you can get involved in."
Wang Shaolin walked over, patted Xiao Qiyu on the shoulder, and this time his tone carried an undeniable force: "Listen to me, go home, and stop obsessing over things."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his voice and shouted towards the door, "Someone come here!"
Two guards on duty entered in response.
"See Young Master Xiao out," Wang Shaolin said.
The constable walked up to Xiao Qiyu, extended his hand respectfully, and said, "Young Master Xiao, please."
Xiao Qiyu's chest heaved violently a few times as he stared at Wang Shaolin, but ultimately said nothing and took a step forward.
Outside the government office, all was quiet.
Xiao Qiyu stood alone on the deserted Yaqian Street, the moonlight casting a long, thin shadow of him, as if he were the only person left in the world.
He stared at the landscape map in his hand, then suddenly raised his arm and threw it out with a thud.
The blueprints were blown open by the wind, like a lone goose spreading its wings, about to end its short life in a tragic way by banging its head against the ground.
Just then, a snow-white, smooth hand suddenly grabbed the blueprint and held it tightly.
Under the moonlit sky, Cui Ying's black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. She wore a maroon brocade cloak sprinkled with gold, her face free of makeup, and her eyes were bright and clear.
She carefully rolled up the blueprints, glared at Xiao Qiyu, and muttered, "Littering things in the street, you have no manners at all."
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Author's Note: Mei Bao: (pointing and gesturing) No manners!
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