Regarding the Penglai affair, "You said it was the heir of the Marquis of Jingning who killed Liang back then..."
Luo Ling smiled gently and quickly helped him up: "Please get up quickly. Am I the kind of person who would take advantage of someone's kindness?"
The wooden boy remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Luo Ling said, "If we must thank someone, we should thank Qingyun."
Mu Tong suddenly recalled the rumors that had circulated in the capital years ago that the young lady had been killed by river bandits, and that the youngest grandson of the Earl of Chengyi had also almost lost his life there.
"Of course I thank you." He nodded, but refused to get up from his knees.
Luo Ling had no choice but to look at Qin Weixi beside him and said with a smile, "In that case, how about I pass this favor on to my little sister? If my little sister is well, then you have repaid this favor."
Qin Weixi looked back at her brother, who was approaching thirty. He had taken meticulous care of her since she was eight years old, and even in dangerous situations, he still sent letters to Jiangnan, always playing the role of the brother who had passed away many years ago.
Luo Ling sighed softly, "Mu Tong, it's been ten years since we last met. We never expected you to still be alive. Get up quickly."
Neither of them were coy, and Mu Tong readily stood up.
Luo Ling went back into the house, took out a few pieces of silver, and instructed Luo Yuan, "Quickly brew a pot of tea. The silver isn't much, so give it to the kitchen maids when they have time to go out for drinks." Then she invited Mu Tong into the study.
Qin Weixi could tell that his elder brother was very happy today. The Qin family's wrongful case had begun to show some progress, and Mu Tong was able to return home today.
Luo Ling lit another oil lamp, illuminating the dimly lit study brightly. He said, "Mu Tong, it's time to go home."
That night, Luo Yuan stood guard outside the door with focused concentration. Qin Weixi and Luo Ling watched quietly as Mu Tong took a big gulp of tea and listened as he slowly unveiled the past events of Penglai on that snowy winter night full of killing, ten years later.
Mu Tong said, "Years ago, we accompanied the young master and his daughter to the Xiao family, the maternal family of Lady Jiangnan, to offer our congratulations. We had only been staying at the Xiao family for a short time when, one morning, the young master wanted to take a walk in the fields, so he only took me and Yun Kai with him. Suddenly, a candy vendor handed us a small note. After reading the letter, the young master immediately told us to set off back to the capital. He said that something had happened in the capital, that the Duke of Dingguo might be in danger, and that the young master's wife had also suffered an accident and died in the womb."
But on that day, Qin Weixi saw her brother leave with a smile. He didn't say anything, only that there was an urgent matter in the capital and he had to return. He told her to stay at her maternal grandfather's house for a few more days and that she could write to him in advance whenever she wanted to return to the capital. He would send someone or come to pick her up in person.
Mu Tong continued, "The young master was very cautious along the way and did not linger. He did not rest at any post station or eat food by the roadside. When he was hungry, he ate the dry rations he had prepared before returning to the capital, and when he was thirsty, he drank the water stored in his water bag or snow water."
"But before we even reached the city gate, we saw a large number of masked men in black suddenly appear out of nowhere, wanting to kill the prince and trying to wipe us all out."
"Yun Kai was injured while protecting the Crown Prince. At that moment, I thought of the Empress Dowager on Xia Guang Peak, and thought that I should go to Xia Guang Peak to ask for her protection. How could these wicked villains possibly stand against the royal family?"
"The Crown Prince refused, insisting that we leave first. He said the bandits were after him, fearing it might endanger the Empress Dowager's life and the palace servants at Xiaguang Peak. Mu Tong and I had no choice but to carry him to Xiaguang Peak. When the assassins saw us heading towards Xiaguang Peak, they indeed slowed down and their killing intent diminished."
At this point, Mu Tong's eyes suddenly darkened: "But when I reached the summit of Xia Guang Peak, I heard that the Empress Dowager refused to see me..."
A blizzard swept through the capital, and they raced back to their homeland from Jiangnan, enduring wind and rain for many nights without sleep. The frigid winter snow pelted their faces, the wind biting to the bone, but it wasn't the thin clothes they naturally donned upon reaching the south, or the heavy winter coats they suddenly donned on their return journey to the capital, nor their bodies still recovering from the late summer in Jiangnan, that chilled them. It was their hearts that were cold.
“Grandmother Zhao?” Qin Weixi stood up abruptly upon hearing this, her face turning deathly pale in an instant. Then she looked at Luo Ling sitting beside her and said, “No, Grandmother Zhao wouldn’t.”
She recalled her grandmother, Zhao, whom she had seen after returning to the capital. She was blind and sometimes delirious, sometimes lucid. She choked back tears and said, "My brother was such a cautious person. Didn't he ever think that the note might just be a trick by the thieves to lure him back to the capital?"
Mu Tong suddenly closed his eyes, and after a moment two lines of clear tears slid out from his tightly closed eyes: "The young master said that the lady in the capital has been thinking about the old master and old lady in the south. Many months ago, she went to the temple to ask for two strings of summer-cooling incense beads to be paired with consecrated Buddhist beads, hoping to have someone send them to Jiangnan when she had the opportunity, but she has not found the opportunity yet."
"It wasn't until Old Master Xiao wrote a letter that Madam learned that your uncle had a son, and that's when she thought of asking the young master to take the child back. But for some reason, Madam forgot about it in the end. It was only when we changed to waterways and the young master mentioned the master and madam that we remembered it."
"The young master said that with the lady's decisiveness and the Buddhist beads that she had personally obtained, he would definitely send someone to Jiangnan to deliver them. However, because he was worried about you, Miss, traveling all the way, he deliberately slowed down the journey during that period, and the Buddhist beads were not delivered before we returned to the capital."
"At that time, the Crown Prince said that something must have happened in the capital."
Qin Weixi weakly clenched her hand, which had been resting on the edge of the table, and suddenly slammed it hard onto the flower stand.
Luo Ling also fell silent. After a while, he said, "Mu Tong, continue."
This time, Mu Tong's voice was filled with endless sorrow.
"The maid who saw us was just a young palace maid. She only said one sentence before turning us away. She said that Her Majesty had caught a cold and had not recovered. She had been in a daze for quite some time. When she saw the Prince coming to visit, she went to inform him, but Her Majesty only said that she would not see him and then fell asleep. They dared not make any decisions on their own."
"Later I asked the little palace maid where Aunt Baozhu and Eunuch Ding were, but the little palace maid kept her mouth shut and closed the door."
"Later, Yun Kai's injuries became too severe, and the Crown Prince said to go to Penglai, so we went to Penglai to seek the protection of the late Emperor."
The late emperor passed away in Penglai. Little Penglai was also a royal villa. Although no one went there on weekdays, there were palace servants specially sent there to manage it. They were all wondering if those villains would dare to attack Penglai.
Mu Tong suddenly choked up: "But as soon as we set foot on Penglai, we saw the Liang brothers arrive with an imperial decree, accusing the Duke of Dingguo and his heir of treason and murdering General Chu, and they wanted to take us all back to the palace."
"But we could tell at the time that Liang Xu was determined to kill us without mercy. The Crown Prince immediately ordered us to put down our swords. He said that behind us were the women of the Qin family, the Duke whose fate was now unknown, and the hundreds of Qin family soldiers who had followed the old Duke in his campaigns and were now with the Duke through thick and thin. To lay down our swords was to 'surrender.' He wanted to go to the palace alive and see the emperor who held the power of life and death."
Qin Weixi's face remained cold. After a moment, she looked at Mu Tong and asked, "And then?"
Mu Tong lowered his head slightly, his hands, which were resting on his knees, suddenly clenched into fists, as if he was trying his best to suppress his emotions. He said, "Yun Kai died to protect the young master, and the young master died to protect his subordinates. The scouts who went to explore the way had just seen Liang Xu's head when they rushed back. The young master originally wanted to hide Yun Kai in the shadows, but Yun Kai refused no matter what."
"After that, we abandoned our swords, but Liang Bai, the second son of the Liang family, led his men to place the corpses, each bearing the waist badge of the Qin family's personal guards, in front of the young master."
"At that time, the Crown Prince was heartbroken. The five hundred Qin family guards were lined up in the snow in Penglai. Some died with their eyes open, and some were unrecognizable. Even Yun Kai, the Crown Prince, and I, who had been with them since childhood, could not recognize who they were."
"The young master immediately knelt down and spoke after a long time. He swore on the lives of more than a hundred members of the Qin family that the Qin family had no intention of rebellion. We also knew that the Duke of Dingguo must have met with misfortune in the city. However, Liang Xu used our disobedience as a pretext to capture us alive and bring the body back."
"Later, I was seriously injured. The young master said that no matter what, someone from the Qin family had to return to the capital, even if they died, they had to die with a clear conscience. I didn't want to leave; my life belonged to the young master. But the young master mentioned the lady and you, Miss, who are still in Jiangnan..."
Qin Shuoguang was utterly despondent, his former radiance completely gone. He kept repeating, "My little sister is still in Jiangnan. My father, mother, and Aruo are all missing, their fates unknown. My father was loyal to the Jiang family his whole life, but the Jiang family is sincere to their friends and others. Who is it that wants to harm my Qin clan!"
But he still stood firm and straight, possessing a natural pride born of his family.
Even as he discarded the sword in his hand, he declared: "You all listen to treacherous people, but my Qin clan has never harbored any rebellious intentions! Discarding the sword today does not mean that my Qin clan has submitted, but rather that I, alone, can enter the palace gates and demand a reason from the emperor sitting on the throne in the Golden Palace for the inevitable demise of my Qin family!"
Qin Shuoguang's eyes were clear, and his words were firm and powerful, all for the sake of his family in adversity. The palace guards looked at each other, hesitating to step forward with their swords drawn, but Liang Xu, whose face was etched with malice, was determined not to let him leave Penglai alive.
Mu Tong's eyes reddened as he spoke: "For this, the Crown Prince and Yun Kai fought their way out for me."
"Mu Tong has walked the road to Penglai many times with the young master and young lady, so he knows it very well. Therefore, I deliberately led Liang Bai to that cliff, and then let him watch me fall off the cliff."
“I climbed onto the cliff and threw my sword off the cliff. Liang Bai was seriously injured and frightened. He dared not go forward rashly. Hearing the sound of the sword falling off the cliff and seeing the bottomless abyss, he ordered everyone to go back. I thought that he must have gone back and found Liang Xu to tell him that I had died here.”
"Later, after Liang Bai left, I used all my strength to climb to the top of the cliff and hide in Penglai. But..." Mu Tong suddenly sobbed, "But I saw that the heir was dead and Liang Xu was nowhere to be found. Then the heir of the Marquis of Jingning led a group of men and killed Liang Bai and the remaining traitors with his own hands."
To this day, Mu Tong still remembers what the heir of the Marquis of Jingning looked like when he saw him.
He arrived like a demon, draped in snow, wielding two swords. He rode his horse and slashed Liang Bai in the throat with one sword and pierced his head with the other. He then dismounted, pierced Liang Bai's back with a spear, stripped him of his clothes, and made him kneel and bow to the deceased prince.
Liang Bai stared wide-eyed in disbelief as the man galloped back on horseback. As for the palace guards who had stayed with Liang Bai in Penglai, the Marquis of Jingning only glanced at them coldly before resolutely leaving, saying only, "Kill them all."
Never look back.
Upon hearing this, Qin Weixi's pupils contracted sharply, followed by a look of shock in his eyes: "You said..." But as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a slight tremor in his voice, making it extremely hoarse.
"You're saying it was the heir of the Marquis of Jingning who killed Liang Bai back then? Mu Tong, wasn't it you?"
Mu Tong's eyes reddened, and then he nodded. The scene of returning to Penglai that day still seemed like yesterday, haunting his mind for over three thousand days and nights.
He witnessed the blood dripping from the withered magnolia branches, and everywhere he looked were his former close companions and their eternally closed, cold corpses.
“I dared not go forward rashly, so I left Penglai first, intending to hide in the mountains outside the city and wait until I could escape the soldiers before returning to the city. But I immediately fainted.”
"When I woke up, it was already past the New Year in the capital. I learned that I had been rescued by a herb farmer who was gathering herbs. The herb farmer probably left first when he saw that my injuries had improved."
"After that, I returned to the capital to gather information, only to hear that the heir of the Marquis of Jingning had injured Minister Cai of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, who had pleaded for the Qin family, with a sword in the palace. As a result, he was exiled to the border, the heir's wife died in the womb, and you, Miss, also perished in the river on your way back to the capital. Your wife also committed suicide by cutting her throat. And Li Mou, who was supposedly holding the evidence of the crime, was imprisoned and died."
That led to the scene at Jingyun Temple where the arrow struck the Marquis of Jingning.
Luo Ling suddenly asked, "Mu Tong, did Ashuo say anything at the end?" His voice was filled with endless sorrow at this moment.
Upon hearing this, Mu Tong's eyelashes trembled slightly. After a long while, he finally spoke, but his voice was trembling: "When I led Liang Bai to the edge of the cliff, I vaguely heard the young master behind me shouting, 'Grandfather Jiang, come back and see the world you once conquered!'"
Luo Ling remained silent for a long, long time after hearing this. Later, he asked, "Mu Tong, you said that when you saw those hundreds of Qin family guards that day, not a single one of them was still alive?"
Mu Tong paused for a moment, recalling the tragic scene, and then nodded.
"At that time, there were many patrolling soldiers in the city. In order to clear the name of the Qin family later, I left the capital. Over the years, I have been secretly investigating Li Mou's wife and Zhuang Shijun, the missing advisor of the Duke. But I found that in addition to me, there seem to be five other groups of people searching for Li Mou's wife and Zhuang Shijun."
"After Gao Jian died, I was immediately informed of this and rushed back to the capital. I observed the Luo residence for many days but saw nothing unusual until I saw Miss jump off the carriage one day upon returning home. I remembered that when you were young, you would often quarrel with the Prince for this. The Prince was afraid you would fall when you were young, but you would refuse his help..."
"What can be seen is the appearance of the former eldest daughter of the Luo family."
"Then we went to the shop where your late son used to love pastries, and bought a lot of the pastries he loved."
"I have wanted to meet Miss for a long time, but because there are more soldiers in the city these days, I was afraid that this would bring trouble to the Luo family, so I have only come to see Miss today."
“I know, it’s my grandfather’s painting, the Four Swordsmen. It’s made those scheming villains hiding in the shadows restless,” Qin Weixi suddenly said.
She looked at Luo Ling and said, “As for the five groups of people that Mu Tong mentioned, I think that in recent years, besides you, my elder brother and my fourth brother, there should also be my fifth brother. I think the other two groups of people are the real culprits who harmed my Qin family. As for the other person, I think it should be Grandmother Zhao who is currently at Xiaguang Peak.”
Luo listened and nodded. Suddenly, he remembered something and said, "Mu Tong, was it you who suddenly appeared at the Jingning Marquis's residence that day?"
Mu Tong suddenly let out a cold laugh: "When my injuries healed and I returned to the city, I stayed there for several days. I discovered that Sun Daban was disguised as a beggar and was trying to sneak out of the city. I was afraid of alerting him in the city, so I waited outside the city and tied him up in a dilapidated temple."
"But his throat was poisoned, and it would be too obvious for me to take him with me. I knew that both the Qin and Chu families had fallen into the trap set by the thieves. After thinking it over, I left him in the latrine of the Marquis of Jingning's mansion. I thought that one day the young Marquis of Jingning might learn something from that old fox."
After hearing this, Qin Weixi and Luo Ling exchanged glances.
Sure enough, it turned out that someone else had poisoned that old scoundrel Sun's voice and rendered him mute.
Luo Ling then informed Mu Tong of all the events that had occurred in the city in the past few days, as well as the matter of Wo Xue Pavilion.
It was already late at night. The matter of Penglai from back then had all been learned from Mu Tong. Luo Ling instructed Luo Yuan to prepare a room for Mu Tong. Luo Ling smiled and said, "The Luo family is still peaceful at this time. Mu Tong can stay in the mansion tonight. I have a day off tomorrow, and we can discuss it further later."
Mu Tong nodded and was about to leave as instructed.
Qin Weixi remembered something and suddenly called out to him, "Mutong, there is something else that I think you will be happy about. It is about your sister-in-law Zhu Ruo and your brother's child, who is now in Chengxin Nunnery on Xiaopenglai. He is a boy named Xiao Jiubao."
Upon hearing this, Mu Tong was jolted, staggered, and stared in disbelief: "The child of the Crown Prince and his wife back then wasn't..."
Qin Weixi said, "It was Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother of the Chu family saved Brother's child."
It took Mu Tong a long time to recover from those words, and he immediately understood the mystery of everything that had happened in the mansion the day before.
Qin Weixi continued, "There's one more thing. Mu Tong said that Grandmother Zhao of Penglai refused to see you that day. Do you still remember the little palace maid you saw that day? Did she have any distinctive features?"
Mu Tong frowned and pondered seriously for a long time: "There's nothing unusual about it. That little palace maid seems... seems to be much shorter than ordinary palace maids."
Luo Ling asked, "Is there any trace of that note left?" What he was thinking was that since Ashu could fight his way out for Mutong, he would definitely hand over a great piece of evidence to Mutong, who could walk out alive, to clear the Qin family's name in the future.
Upon hearing this, Mu Tong nodded and hurriedly took out the small note from a tiny pouch made of a peace charm that was wrapped around his neck.
The wooden boy said, "I was originally going to give this to Miss today." Then he suddenly smiled and said, "Speaking of which, this amulet was obtained by my wife from the temple for her subordinates years ago."
"But if this talisman can protect my subordinates, why can't it protect the Crown Prince, Yun Kai, and those brothers who have risked their lives alongside me!"
Luo Ling accepted it, and Qin Weixi gave a wry smile, saying, "Brother, please keep it."
Her eyes darkened slightly as she pondered Mu Tong's words. She quickly recalled the palace maids she had seen at the summit of Xia Guang Peak over the years, as well as those who had served Grandmother Zhao closely, but she did not find anyone with such characteristics.
She turned around and smiled gently, "Zijin is still waiting for you. Mutong, you're finally reunited."
Mu Tong had a thousand words to say, but he felt at a loss for words. He immediately cupped his hands and was about to kneel down again when Qin Weixi quickly helped him up. Luo Ling said from the side, "Mu Tong, it's getting late. Let's rest early today. We'll have plenty of time in the future."
Mu Tong nodded and left, leaving only him and his sister in the study, where all was quiet and still.
Luo Ling looked at her with gentle eyes and smiled: "Little sister, Liang Bai..."
Qin Weixi said, "Brother, I need to go to the Marquis's residence."
Luo Ling nodded: "Okay. Brother will have Luo Yuan take you there."
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