Deng Tu Zi said, "Wait for Fourth Brother to come and marry you."
A wide smile had already curved the corners of his mouth. The fish lanterns hanging on the balcony shone on his fair, snow-white face, and his long, fluttering eyelashes resembled the tail wings of a butterfly.
Qin Weixi smiled slightly, her eyes sparkling, and then without hesitation, she tiptoed over and took a bite.
Chu Yening hissed again and laughed, "Truly a miracle cure. But why not play by the rules?"
Qin Weixi thought to himself: Bah, "You lecherous scoundrel."
Then, a faint fragrance wafted into my nostrils—the scent of calming incense.
She asked, "You've entered the palace?"
Chu Yening, who had been smiling, suddenly frowned and then the smile vanished.
Qin Weixi smiled sweetly, her eyes bright. She then stood on tiptoe, placed her hands on his shoulders, and stared intently into his bright eyes: "Who offended you?"
He had a pair of captivating eyes, and when he wasn't smiling, he exuded a striking and imposing aura. Especially when he was wearing the armor that had been used to slay enemies, he looked exactly like a dashing young general.
But whenever she's in a good mood, those peach blossom eyes that look at everyone with such deep affection become a bit "bad".
Recalling the noble ladies from the high-rise pavilions where she saw him off to war, she suddenly lowered her eyes and smiled: "Let me guess?"
"Is it Jiang Rong?"
Chu Yening suddenly frowned: "Who? I don't know her." In an instant, he smiled again, his eyes like pools of spring water, and gently cupped her cheeks, saying: "Your fourth brother only sees one woman in sight."
The heir of Prince Jing was reduced to a commoner and exiled to a malarial land. Although Jiang Rong already had the title of princess, her status became unclear due to her father's actions.
But Chu Yening didn't say anything, and she wouldn't ask any more questions. But soon she heard him say, "Qin Luo, wait a little longer."
"Wait for what?"
"Wait for your fourth brother to come and marry you."
I will give you a dragon and phoenix sedan chair, a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe. I will give you a lifetime of peace and happiness, and that we will never be apart, even in death.
Qin Weixi's mind went blank for a moment, and before she could think any further, she heard him say, "I have something important to do today. It's a cool autumn night, so go and put on some warm clothes. I'll be waiting for you outside the door."
Where to?
"Go to your best brother's study."
Before the two even reached Luo Ling's courtyard, a guard from the manor came out of Luo Ling's study. Upon seeing the two, the guard bowed and left.
Chu Yening chuckled softly and said to Luo Ling, who had just come out of the study, "It seems that Brother Luo already knows?"
Luo Ling looked up at the bright moon in the sky without saying a word, smiled gently, and invited the two of them to come inside quickly.
Qin Weixi turned around to look at the departing guards, and seeing the two men communicating in sign language, asked, "What is it?"
"Is it Chen Guiyi? Liang Xu?"
Chu Yening smiled and gently patted her head: "It's Li Mou's good father-in-law."
In the study, Songyang recounted everything he had observed that day.
"After Liang Xu was imprisoned, the Marquis instructed his subordinates to temporarily put aside matters such as the Woxue Pavilion and to keep a close watch on the Lu family. My two subordinates have been staying outside the Lu residence closely these past few days. Sure enough, we saw Lu Yi change his clothes with his confidant after midnight and leave the mansion with a cart of gold, silver and valuables. However, the two of them split up and let his confidant leave with the cart of gold and silver on his own."
"But the city gates are already closed. I suspect he intends to disguise himself as a servant of the Lu family and leave the mansion to hide in the city for one night. He will then find the right opportunity to leave the city the next day. If anything happens to his trusted aides, it will be none of his business."
Qin Weixi asked, "He's leaving the capital, where would he go at this time?" Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: "Lu Yu!"
Songyang continued, "The next day, before Lu Yi had left the city, my two subordinates, along with the guards from Young Master Luo's residence and the suddenly appearing Ah Xiao, trapped him in the inn."
"Lu Yi said that he felt the city was not peaceful recently because of the matter of Prince Jing and wanted to go out of the city to find an ancient temple to calm down. However, his subordinates found several silver notes and a letter in the sole of his shoe. But before Lu Yi could swallow the letter, his subordinates had already snatched it away."
"What's written on it?"
"My daughter is well, so do not worry, Father." After saying this, Songyang walked to the desk, where he had just taken out a cloth bag containing a letter that had been crumpled into a ball of shreds but which he had pieced back together to make it slightly intact.
Songyang reminded her, "Miss, the letter was damaged and is quite dirty by Lu Yi."
Qin Weixi smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's alright."
She stood before the desk, picked up the torn corner of the letter, and examined it carefully for a while. The others in the room remained silent.
After a short while, Luo Ling said, "I have already had someone check it, and this letter is not from the capital."
Qin Weixi put the fragment back in its original place, looked up and said, "Brother, Fourth Brother, this letter paper is from Jiangnan."
"Jiangnan?" Luo Ling and Chu Yening pondered for a moment.
Qin Weixi continued, "But Jiangnan is more than a thousand miles away from the capital. Lu Yi has been delayed on the road for a long time since he received this letter, which does not mean that Lu Yu is still in the south at this time."
Just as Chu Yening was about to give instructions to Songyang, Qin Weixi interrupted him, saying, "Fourth Brother, the palace has become aware of the matter concerning Prince Jing because of us. Besides, you are currently on duty at the Zhenfu Division, and there are countless people watching you."
Chu Yening laughed: "Then let Old Zhong go."
“Uncle Zhong has been guarding the dungeon, and it’s not suitable for Brother Luo to leave the city at this time. Let Mu Tong and Zi Jin go instead. Don’t forget, Zi Jin is Pu Niang’s adopted daughter and is from Jiangnan, while Mu Tong is no longer in this world.”
Without delay, Mu Tong and Zi Jin packed their bags and secretly headed to the south that very night after learning of this matter.
The next day at dawn.
Luo Yuan drove the carriage with Qin Weixi around the city for most of the day, buying a lot of silk and food. Finally, they stopped at a rouge shop called Baihua Nong.
Madam Kang was already waiting in the inner room. Baihua Nong, the most popular rouge shop among noble ladies in the capital, was ostensibly run by wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, but in reality, its investor was Luo Chen, a cousin of the Luo family who was currently in Jiangnan.
She would never go to Baihua Nong unless it was something urgent.
When Madam Kang saw the newcomer, her eyes lit up. She examined the woman closely and smiled brightly, saying, "She truly is the intelligent and clever little daughter that the Duke of Dingguo spoke of."
Qin Weixi stepped forward and bowed solemnly to her, but Madam Kang helped her up: "No need for further words. The help my husband received back then was not because of the hundred taels of silver, but because of the sincere treatment he received from two kind-hearted people in dire straits."
The small room was filled with the two of them meeting for the first time in many years. Qin Weixi personally brewed tea and served it to them, and told them about Lu Yu's father. Madam Kang sighed, "Now that Gao Jian is dead, many people have come out. We women in the inner quarters have nothing to do all day long. When we are thirsty, someone serves us tea; when we are hungry, someone serves us food. But we are not without a heart that wants to watch the excitement."
"Those women of the clan often gathered together to play cards when they had nothing to do. In recent years, I have become acquainted with Madam Yang, the wife of the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs, and she has been talking to me about Lu Yu from back then."
Madam Yang. Qin Weixi recalled the woman he had met at the Jinshui River that day, Madam Yang, who had shielded her mother with her own body after committing suicide under the Dengwen Drum, thus preserving her mother's last shred of dignity.
Madam Kang continued, "Madam Yang said that before Lu Yu got married, she had a close confidante, but after Lu Yu disappeared, that confidante also left the capital. I have been searching for her for a long time and finally found this close friend of Lu Yu's before her marriage."
“I only sent someone to Tengchong, saying that they came from the capital to investigate some matters concerning Lu Yu. If she reveals this matter in the future, she can forget about her peaceful life now. If she doesn’t want Lu Yu to have to hide with her daughter for so many years because of this, she should tell the truth.”
Qin Weixi got up again and poured her a cup of hot tea. Madam Kang smiled and patted her hand gently. "This friend mentioned that Lu Yu was a midwife before she got married. She had aspired to open a pharmacy when she was young, but she didn't say anything else. However, when she left, she said that someone had given her some medicinal herbs a few years ago. The person didn't say who sent them, but just left the bundle and left."
The letters and medicinal herbs from Jiangnan, along with the pharmacy he once aspired to open, all prove that Lu Yu is still alive and well in this world.
Before leaving, Qin Weixi gave Kang a box of pastries she had made that morning. Kang generously accepted them and held Qin Weixi's hands with eyes full of tenderness. The two then parted ways.
After returning home, Qin Weixi immediately sent a letter to Mu Tong at the agreed location, inquiring about newly opened pharmacies in the south in recent years. However, finding Li Mou's wife was more important than finding Sun Shaopu, Chen Guiyi, and Ma Lianren, who had been secretly observing from the shadows.
The secret letter of treason that Li Mou brought back back years ago led to the Qin family's annihilation overnight. If the family's name can be cleared, the only way is to find Lu Yu, who suddenly fled with the family's wealth after Li Mou was imprisoned.
If she had such a deep affection for her husband, why couldn't they share both joy and sorrow? Was it for their daughter? But clearly, it couldn't be. Lu Yu was unaffected by the wrongful death of the student years ago.
In late autumn, as frost descends, a cold wind suddenly rises.
She returned to the capital in the spring, harboring boundless hatred and lying low for ten years, hoping that her unjustly accused family would one day see the light of day. But when will those treacherous officials who have buried the Qin family in the shadows be brought to justice, and when will her family finally see the light of day?
Qin Weixi suddenly remembered his grandfather, who had sharp eyes and an imposing presence, and then a fleeting indifference crossed his eyes.
The grudges between our grandparents are utter nonsense!
A few days later, Mu Tong replied to the capital, explaining that this letter paper had become popular in many parts of Jiangnan, and that paper manufacturers had even sold it to many places in Lincheng in recent years.
Inside Tingyuxuan, Qin Weixi sat on a chair, a single tear silently falling onto the paper, and then she slowly closed her eyes.
In a hazy dream, she seemed to return to the courtyard where her grandfather had planted many flowering trees. Then she saw her father and brother still wielding their swords in the courtyard. This time, however, in the warm room where she was, there was her sister-in-law Zhu Ruo, who could play the zither very well, and her precocious nephew Jiu Bao.
This time, Qin Weixi slept until dusk before finally waking from that unforgettable chaos.
Feng Hua carried a food tray and stomped up the wooden steps to the second floor.
Seeing the coolness of the inner room and the half-open window, Feng Hua frowned and muttered, "Miss, it's getting cold. You mustn't stay out in the cold."
Seeing that she put down the bowl in her hand and hurriedly closed the window, Qin Weixi did not hesitate to turn around and lecture her again.
She smiled and gently tapped her forehead with a finger: "I know, my little Fenghua is the most caring person in the family."
Feng Hua smiled and pointed to the congee and pickles on the table: "Pu Niang said that Miss has not had a good appetite recently and gave me money to buy some pickles. Miss, guess what incredible thing I saw?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi put down her porridge bowl and the pickled vegetables she had just picked up, feigning great curiosity: "What strange thing?"
Feng Hua laughed and said, "I saw Song Yang and Jiu Qu from the Jingning Marquis's residence sneaking into the bookstore. I wondered how people who usually deal with knives and sticks could have the leisure to read books. I followed them and found that they came out of the bookstore again after a short while and went to the street to buy a lot of picture books from the street vendors."
"I found it strange, so after the two of them walked away, I bought a copy myself." Feng Hua blushed as she said this, and then winked at her before pulling out the book from her bosom.
Qin Weixi took the eyelids and her eyelids twitched suddenly, then quickly closed them again.
Inside the study of the Marquis of Jingning's residence.
Chu Yening chuckled as he looked at the sketchbook the two had brought back from outside. The sketches depicted scenes of intense and exquisitely detailed love between lovers. Some showed a lecherous man passionately kissing a woman, while others depicted a libertine kneeling on one knee, holding a woman's foot in his arms with tender affection in his eyes. Still others showed a virtuous gentleman gazing intently at a woman standing gracefully before a bronze mirror, personally drawing her eyebrows and applying powder to her face.
The painting of the figure ends with a series of vivid descriptions and heartfelt expressions of love.
He lowered his eyes, and his peripheral vision caught sight of another painting on a page, depicting two figures embracing tightly within a bed curtain. He then lifted his eyelids and cast a perfectly calm glance at the two, smiling as he said, "Well done, well done, you lecherous fellow, not bad."
Jiuqu smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Does Your Excellency like them? How about I buy all the books from that vendor?" His eyes were bright with excitement, and he was completely unaware that he had quietly retreated to Songyang under the eaves.
But then he heard the person in front of him, who had been treating him with kindness just a moment ago, suddenly let out a cold laugh and say, "Get lost—"
Jiuqu looked annoyed, scratching his head and cheeks, and said to Songyang, who was standing under the eaves, "Why is the Marquis unhappy? This painting is very popular in the capital now, and many princes and nobles are buying it."
Song Yang glanced at him indifferently: "The Marquis has never been one for romance, so what use would he have for this young man's confession book?"
Jiuqu stared wide-eyed, looking incredulous: "You're saying the Marquis has never been interested in romance? Old Song, you greenhorn, did you doze off while standing there and not wake up yet?"
Song Yang crossed his arms and closed his eyes, giving off an expression that said he wouldn't listen to anything you said.
Jiuqu stared at him blankly for a long time, then, as if recalling the past, smiled mischievously and whispered, "Let me tell you, I saw the Marquis's mouth with my own eyes that day at Jingyun Temple..."
Suddenly, a thick stack of books was thrown out of the window and hurtled towards him.
"Oh, Master, it hurts...it hurts! Please have mercy, Master, please listen to me!" Jiuqu Zuo jumped and leaped as he fled the courtyard, facing the successive heavy blows coming at him.
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