Beijing Six
In the exquisite and simple study, the elegant and handsome middle-aged man slowly drank a sip of tea, pondered for a while before looking up at his son who was standing upright in front of the desk.
"Master Liu did a good job on the case," Su Qing said meaningfully, easily seeing the mockery in his son's cold eyes. "Since Master Liu has already reported it to the Emperor, the case is closed."
"It's just that the Liu family's missing person case has been closed," Su Zirui sneered. How could he be willing to let the case be closed like this?
"Lord Liu has written a letter praising you highly," Su Qing said, having been in the officialdom for a long time. He naturally knew that officials in Beijing had their own rules. "Don't act impulsively."
"The child knows." Su Zirui lowered his eyes to hide his thoughts and said obediently.
He still understood his son's character, but there were some things he had to remind him of. "Since the case has been reported and closed, don't do anything more. Sometimes doing more will only alert the enemy."
"Dad, do you also think there is something else going on in this case?" Su Zirui looked at the files on the desk, which were the case details and clues related to the baby's disappearance and Liang Shuxian's murder during this period.
"Of all the cases in the capital that reach the Ministry of Justice, which one is considered ordinary?" Su Qing waved his hand, pointing to the source of the spices in the file and the people in the capital who could now eat these grapes. "This matter is not that simple. We must not rush into a case like this that has no clue."
"I know." Having worked in the Ministry of Justice for many years, Su Zirui naturally had no intention of acting in a high-profile manner.
"You've handled quite a few cases, so I don't need to explain these things explicitly. It's always good to think twice before acting." Su Qing was quite satisfied with his son's performance. He closed the file to indicate that the official business was over. "By the way, your second mother brought some soup..."
"If there is nothing else, I'll leave first." Su Zirui said in a businesslike manner, picked up the file and turned to leave.
"Stop!" Su Qing's face darkened. He had been a gentleman his whole life, and even when he scolded someone, he kept his voice down. "What kind of attitude is this? Your second mother also has some good intentions."
"No need." Su Zirui didn't turn around. His tone was stubborn, completely different from his calmness. Without waiting for Su Qing to say anything else, he walked out.
"Su Zirui!"
"Master," a woman in blue walked in from the side door of the study. Her hair was tied up in a bun, adorned only with a jade hairpin. She looked exceptionally dignified and gentle. "Don't yell at him all the time. Rui'er is already an adult. Do you still treat him like a child?"
"Do you think his attitude is that of an adult?" Su Qing was so angry that his hands were shaking. He suppressed his anger after being repeatedly comforted by the woman.
"You know very well that this child has a knot in his heart." The woman sighed softly.
"There is a knot, there is a knot. It's been so many years. Does he plan to be stubborn with me forever? He has finally behaved a little in the past few years, but his temper remains the same." Su Qing was silent for a moment, and couldn't help but rub his brow. "Even if I was wrong about what happened back then, Yu'er is gone like this. Who can I blame? He doesn't think about how much trouble he has caused. It was me who suppressed it for him."
Yu'er was Su Qing's first wife. At the mention of her name, her eyes darkened, a mixture of helplessness and guilt filling her. She reached out and patted the man's shoulder. The events of those years were inexplicable, unexplainable, and even she, the person involved, couldn't come to a definitive conclusion, let alone him, who was deeply affected.
I'm afraid this knot will never be untied.
The willow branches drooped lightly, swaying with the night wind, but the strong wind generated by the swinging of the long stick disrupted their orderly flying. Several willow leaves were broken by the strong wind and shattered in mid-air.
"Sir, the Second Madam sent someone to bring hot soup." Beili waited until his master finished a set of stick techniques before stepping into the yard holding a pot of hot soup on the small stove.
Su Zirui casually swung the long stick, and it landed steadily on the shelf. He glanced at the steaming soup and raised his eyebrows disapprovingly, "Just leave it there."
"Sir, actually the Second Madam treats you very well." Beili was born into a low-class noble family. As the youngest son, he was not eligible for a title so he was basically left alone. He and Su Zirui had known each other since childhood and occasionally they would say a few words that were not what a subordinate should say.
"I know." Su Zirui said calmly, not wanting to continue discussing these personal matters. "By the way, have the medicines been delivered?"
Beili tactfully changed the subject, "Xu Tian sent it over, but he said Aruo accepted it so casually, he wasn't sure if she would use it. Hmm, that girl can be really careless sometimes. If I had known earlier, I would have given it to Xiao Caixin. She's actually nervous."
Thinking of the woman who had argued with him about medical expenses even after such a big incident, Su Zirui frowned. He couldn't understand what was going on in the mind of such a person. Does the wound matter to Yin Mo?
"The wound is not serious. If it is treated properly, it will not be a big deal."
He had seen her wound that day. It was a little deep, but not big. It could be healed with proper care.
"Sir, what you said is wrong. A woman's hands are as important as her face. Think about it, they value their face more than their life."
Bei Li said, with considerable experience, that he had three older sisters, all of whom valued their appearance. When he was a child, he had been naughty and had scraped his eldest sister's cheek with a wooden sword. It had only left a red mark, not yet blood, but he had nearly been chased all over the street by four women in the family, including his mother. Even before his eldest sister got married, it was often brought up as evidence of his inconsiderateness and hostility towards his daughters.
Although Aruo wasn't typically delicate, he'd seen her apply all the necessary makeup. Her skin, while not as good as the imperial ladies of the capital, was still quite good. Caixin had said they even applied their own rouge and other cosmetics, demonstrating a strong focus on skincare.
Su Zirui thought about the noble ladies he usually met in Beijing, and then thought about that person who acted rashly, appeared innocent on the surface, but had a hint of restlessness in her eyes. After all, she was a woman. No wonder she was so excited that day that her face turned red and she looked irrational. He wondered why she was so angry.
But it’s not that he’s mean, it’s just that face of hers… is it necessary to be so angry?
"Aruo is still an unmarried girl. If she gets a scar, her future marriage will be affected." Beili muttered to himself while touching his chin. Back then, his mother was terrified that his eldest sister would get a scar on her face. Even after his eldest sister got married for many years, she would roll her eyes at him whenever she mentioned it.
The hand that was drinking the soup paused, and Su Zirui glanced at him, "When did you become so talkative? Drink the soup."
"Thank you, sir~" Beili usually wouldn't be polite with him when it came to good things. "Hey, it's fish soup. Talk to Aruo about it tomorrow. This fish soup is good for healing wounds."
Su Zirui regretted asking Xu Tian to deliver the medicine. If he had gone to Beili, he would probably have been able to see the girl taking the medicine with his own eyes.
After drinking some soup and discussing a few more cases, Su Zirui sent Beili home. He glanced at the sky, seeing it wasn't too late. Thinking of Beili's words, he twirled the brush between his fingers a few times before putting away the files, putting on his coat, and heading out.
As the impact of the Wang family incident dissipated, everyone's life in Chunfengli returned to normal, except that Chen Changsheng still insisted on following his grandmother out of the alley at night. Everyone else resumed their normal life.
The long alley was filled with the occasional barking of dogs, the faint sound of voices, and the occasional crying of children, which only made the place seem even quieter. Su Zirui slowly walked along the cobblestone path in Chunfeng Lane and saw that the gate of the courtyard was still open, with a faint light shining from within. A woman's clear voice was light and slightly smiling.
"Aruo, stop it. Be careful not to open the wound again." Cai Xin put the rice into the pot and cooked tomorrow's porridge. Then she wiped her hands and asked with concern, "You really don't want to see a doctor?"
"Why see a doctor? Didn't Aunt Song give me some herbal compresses? I just accidentally got it again. Besides, the doctor who treats injuries in the pharmacy is a notorious rip-off. He paid me money and in the end he just gave me a bunch of medicine to apply. The effects are not as good as Aunt Song's wild herbs. I don't want to be a sucker." Aruo raised the gauze on the back of his hand with disdain.
"You're not reluctant to part with the silver, are you?" Cai Xin hit the nail on the head. "Didn't Lord Su compensate you with silver?"
"I lost ten taels of silver last time, and it was heartbreaking. I've only just made up for it a little bit." Aruo said confidently, hands on her hips, "You dare to say that Aunt Song's medicine is not as good as that doctor's? Be careful, she won't see you next time."
"How could I mean that?" Cai Xin glanced around guiltily. The lights in Aunt Song's house had been turned off, so she was probably asleep.
"Go, go, put tomorrow's buns in the pot and steam them tomorrow morning, then go wash up. I'll clean up the rest." Aruo handed the pot to her and pushed her towards the kitchen. Seeing her mumbling into the kitchen, Aruo shook his head and planned to close the gate to the yard. When he got to the door, he saw someone not far away.
The man was as tall as jade, with clear eyebrows and handsome features. His brocade robe was not dim but bright in the night. Just standing there quietly, he was like cold jade, with a cold and majestic aura.
"Su Feng, no, Lord Su, why are you here?" Aruo's eyes widened in surprise. It's curfew at this hour, right? No, why is he here?
"You're so casual about the wound. Could it be that there's nothing wrong, and you're deliberately trying to cheat me out of my money?" Su Zirui approached, his voice unhurried. His features, illuminated by the light, were shrouded in a hazy yellow, and his cold features softened a bit, losing the coldness and sarcasm of his earlier confrontations. His beautiful eyebrows raised slightly, giving him a touch of elegance and grace, more than the cold-faced official he appeared during the day.
Aruo curled her lips, stepped over the threshold in annoyance, and held out the back of her injured hand to him. "See? I'm already seriously injured. Your few taels of silver don't even take into account the pain in my heart!"
Su Zirui suddenly reached out and grasped her wrist, then deftly untied the gauze. The bleeding had stopped, but the wound was still red, evidently from repeated tearing and no scar had formed yet.
"What are you doing?" Aruo was frightened and subconsciously pulled back his hand. The temperature of the back of his hand felt a little hot in the cool night.
"Where is the medicine Captain Xu gave you?" Su Zirui let her withdraw her hand, a hint of coolness lingering on her palm, and asked with a frown.
"Oh?" Aruo was stunned. After thinking for a moment, he took the bag hanging from his waist, reached in with his uninjured hand, and took out a small bottle. "You mean this? I forgot..."
When Xu Tian gave it to her, she was still immersed in the inaction of the current dynasty, so she casually put it in her bag and completely forgot about it afterwards.
"Forgot?" Su Zirui frowned and said in a bad tone, "Don't you care about your injury at all?"
It was the first time he had seen a woman so disrespectful to him. Bei Li said that a woman's hands were as important as her face, so why didn't she care at all? Was she really a girl?
"I, I have the herbal medicine given by Aunt Song. She is a doctor." Aruo blinked and said a little weakly.
"She's a gynecologist." Su Zirui was inexplicably annoyed and glanced at the yard behind her rudely. "If you had used this earlier, the scar would have healed by now."
Fortunately, there was a doctor here, otherwise her fever would have returned. But how could a gynecologist treat a sword wound like this one, compared to the medicines used specifically for external injuries? Although I didn't look closely, the things I saw drying in the yard were mostly wormwood and other blood-activating herbs.
"Is it really that effective? Why didn't Brother Xu tell you?" Aruo looked at the small bottle in his hand suspiciously.
"Give it to you, what a waste." Su Zirui reached out to take it back.
Aruo quickly put it in her bag and protected it. "If you give it to me, it's mine. How can you take it away?"
"Don't you need it?" Su Zirui scoffed. "You don't care anyway, so why waste good medicine?"
"Women are fickle, don't you know?" Aruo thought his sarcasm was just the night wind, a breeze that passed by and let it go. A great man doesn't remember a small man's fault. She gave him a generous smile and said, "Thank you."
She wasn't stupid. Although Xu Tian had given her the medicine, it now seemed like it was the man in front of her who had intended it. Men were truly strange creatures. Even giving medicine required such a roundabout way of thinking. Did he think she was some young lady having a quarrel with her husband?
Aruo curled her lips, unable to understand this man's overly complicated thinking.
"Thank you if you behave yourself." Su Zirui was too lazy to pay attention to her and left with a wave of his sleeves.
Aruo watched him leave, and Erzhang Vajra was confused and at a loss.
"So, what on earth is he doing here?"
There is really no free lunch in this world.
Aruo finally climbed up the hillside and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The almost endless forest in front of her made her want to give up.
In a large forest, tall trees were mixed with grass. Aruo, who had forgotten most of her biology, could only barely make out that the tall trees with bare trunks were probably birches, while the others were just lush with branches and leaves. This location was already above the mountainside, and she could see the faint rice fields and a large area of reeds or swaying miscanthus in the distance.
"Mrs. Song is so treacherous. I just used the medicine given by the government and didn't stay faithful to her. But now she's punishing me to replenish all the herbs. She doesn't even understand that I'm a weak woman who just recovered from a serious injury." Sitting casually on a stone nearby, Aruo counted the herbs in the bamboo basket with disdain. "Little Caixin is so lucky. Her period happened to come at this time, so she escaped."
Although it was only early summer, the weather was still a little hot. In addition, in order to facilitate hiking on the mountain road, she rarely wore cloth boots, which made her feel even more stuffy.
After resting for a while, it was not too late anymore. Aruo patted the dust off his butt, resigned himself to his fate and prepared to fight for another hour or so before retreating.
Suddenly, there was a slight commotion in the grass, and Aruo cautiously grabbed a stick. Although Aunt Song patted her chest to assure herself that there were no wild animals, she was still a little frightened. A small white ball emerged from the green leaves, its round red eyes meeting Aruo's black ones. After confirming that there was no danger, its long ears slowly unfurled.
"Rabbit?" Aruo squatted down, hugged her knees, and watched the little white creature hop and jump to stand not far away from her. "What? You want to eat this grass? You have no sense. This is medicine. You will have diarrhea if you eat it."
Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten braised rabbit head for many years... Aruo's eyes unconsciously showed a hint of anticipation.
The little rabbit straightened its front legs, shook its head from side to side, and suddenly jumped to one side.
"Hey, don't go. Even if you don't want to eat, just being a companion is good." Aruo had been talking to himself for a long time. It was rare for him to see a living creature, so he couldn't help but get excited and chase after it.
Unexpectedly, this little creature was so fast, darting around. Aruo quickly lost sight of it after leaping over a few bushes. Throwing his braided hair back for convenience, Aruo scratched the back of his head. "It ran so fast? Did it know I was planning to roast it?"
A few leaves fell, and Aruo looked up and saw the rabbit lying on a branch, shivering and looking terrified.
"Do you think you're a squirrel?" Aruo laughed, put down the bamboo basket, climbed up the tree trunk, and stretched out his hand to the rabbit, "Come here."
Beneath the tree branches were a pile of intertwined branches and lush leaves. The chaotic sounds made Aruo look down involuntarily. When he parted the branches, he saw a group of people walking around, and there was a faint sound of weapons clashing.
"Could it be another grudge in the martial arts world?" Aruo frowned and carefully looked over. Why did that red figure look a little familiar?
It looks like there's trouble.
Aruo retreated cautiously. Even though this man was a bit bad, he had solved Sister Xian's case after all. She was magnanimous and didn't care about his previous asshole behavior. She would go back and report to Beili.
"Come on, Lord Su, you must make it to Beili alive~" Aruo smiled and pointed with his hand at the person who was spinning to fight the enemy, his black eyes full of gloating.
The rabbit looked at her with red eyes, and suddenly jumped down from the tree branch. Startled, Aruo instinctively reached forward and stretched out her hands to grab it. The moment she grabbed the smooth rabbit fur, she didn't have time to feel happy, as she was already falling down weightlessly.
"ah--"
The woman's scream was clear and crisp, high in volume, interrupting the people on both sides who were confronting each other below. Because she subconsciously let go and grabbed the leaves carelessly, the rabbit fell with her, following a graceful arc, landing in another pair of hands.
Aruo, who was not so lucky, fell straight to the ground with a distorted expression of pain. Fortunately, the fall was not too high and there were leaves and fragile twigs that cushioned the gravity, so no bones were injured, but the pain was real.
"It hurts so much..."
She was most afraid of pain, and after falling like this, her chest was numbed from the impact. Aruo was in so much pain that tears came out.
"It's you?" A familiar voice raised in surprise.
Her hand happened to rest on a pair of black boots with delicate gold patterns on the toes. Looking up, she saw a dark red brocade robe rising along the dark patterns. A tall and slender figure was holding a snow-white rabbit in his arms. Then, she saw that familiar, handsome face.
The rabbit seemed to sense the malicious gaze and snuggled into the arms of the person holding it. Seeing this, Aruo felt envious. She also wanted to be the rabbit in the boss's arms...
"Lord Su, actually... I'm not heavy either." Aruo murmured with resentment.
It's so unfair. Isn't human life precious? Why did he catch a rabbit but not her?
Su Zirui was stunned. Only when he saw her staring at the rabbit in his arms did he understand what she was saying. When he screamed just now, he looked up and saw the little rabbit first, and subconsciously reached out to take it. However, he glanced at the person still lying on the ground and said, "If I take you, I'm afraid I'll break a pair of arms."
If this man can get a wife in the future, it will definitely be because he used his looks to deceive her.
Aruo got up angrily, only to find some blood on his body. Turning around, he belatedly saw a group of masked men in black behind him.
"Um, did I get into some place?" Aruo awkwardly patted the clothes on his chest and smiled politely, "Sorry to bother you."
Before she took a step, a dart had already nailed her foot. Su Zirui quickly grabbed her wrist and dragged her behind him, "If you don't want to die, then be quiet."
He casually tossed the rabbit into the bushes, which was out of the attack range. Aruo was envious, but the man in black had already attacked, so she could only follow the big man and seek protection.
"Lord Su, who did you offend?" Although the person in front of him was very skilled and could knock his opponent away with every move, Aruo was still so scared that he covered his head and dodged.
"Shut up!" Faced with a formidable enemy, Su Zirui truly didn't want to bother explaining. He unsheathed his sword, deflecting the hidden weapon aimed at him, his heart sinking. These people were so despicable, their hidden weapons practically aimed behind him. He had to protect them while simultaneously dealing with the onslaught of the attacks. Even the most skilled martial artist would have been overwhelmed.
"Master Su, why don't you treat me like a rabbit too?" Aruo ducked to avoid the darts, almost crying. Even if she was dumb, she could see that these people were using her as a target. This was too much. Every wrong has its perpetrator! How could she be blinded by such a big living person standing in front of her?
Su Zirui kicked one person away, turned around, grabbed her clothes from the back, lifted her up and threw her hard.
"Ah--" Aruo was caught off guard and flew into the air. Several darts flew past her side and face as if in slow motion, making her already pale face even paler.
Supported by his sword, he spun and kicked around, kicking the besiegers away. Su Zirui showed no reluctance to fight, but took a deep breath, stepped on one man's shoulder and jumped out of the battle.
Before Aruo hit the tree trunk, Su Zirui reached out and hooked her to his side, holding her arm and running towards the tree together.
Before Aruo could even stand, she was dragged along and ran wildly. She couldn't tell east from west and north from south. The chaotic footsteps behind her made her panic. She looked at the person in front of her and found that he had been cut on his back. She didn't know the depth of the cut, but the blood had soaked the clothes around the wound.
Thinking of the blood on his body, Aruo tried to calm down, his eyes moved towards the surrounding environment, and his mind gradually recalled the mountain road he had walked.
"Master Su, this way!" Pulling his hand hard, Aruo forced himself to change direction.
Su Zirui was startled, but he ran in her direction without hesitation. The mountain road began to go down, and the two of them ran much faster. Soon, a large field of reed grass appeared in front of them.
A vast expanse of reeds taller than a person fluttered in the mountain breeze, pushing and shoving each other, like a slowly unfolding painting.
Without hesitation, the two men dived into the reeds, pushing aside the stems and heading deeper. Aruo carefully parted the reeds, preventing the hairs from getting stained by his blood. Finding a patch of lush grass, they carefully crouched down to conceal themselves.
"Are you okay?" Aruo asked softly, almost leaning close to his ear.
A warm breath blew against his ears, and his already boiling blood inexplicably heated up. He rolled his eyes, glancing at the girl running beside him, her face flushed and her eyes fluttering. Su Zirui was momentarily dazed.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and shook his head, but his blood surged, and blood escaped from his tightly closed lips. This time, he had indeed been careless. Frowning, Su Zirui tried to suppress the turbulent airflow in his mouth, but suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Aruo was a little frightened. Su Zirui had always been incredibly arrogant and unpredictable, but this vulnerability forced her to reassess the situation. Carefully looking in the direction he was coming from, Aruo made a decision.
"Su Zirui, listen, I'm going to lead them away..."
"You're crazy! They're not good men and women. If you get caught, you won't even know how to die!" Su Zirui covered his chest, feeling a dull pain, and flatly rejected her fantasy. This woman really has no brains. In the current situation, does she still want to make trouble?
"I've been here many times and I'm familiar with the route. Besides, I value my life very much. Listen, don't stay here for a while. It's so big here and I can't find you. In a few minutes, go in the direction of the sunset. There's a forest of birch-like trees there. If you're lucky, we should be there at about the same time. If you can't see me, go back by yourself!" Aruo chattered, broke free from his hand and got out.
"Miss Qi!" Su Zirui moved but was stopped by the sudden pain. In a moment, he had lost sight of her. He could only hold his breath, hide, and listen carefully to the sounds around him.
After running for a while, Aruo deliberately kicked the surrounding reeds a few times, and when the reeds swayed unnaturally, he ran away.
She had just lied. She had only been to this mountain three times, but her sense of direction was still good, and there was still a chance that she could find the woods before sunset. She was not blindly brave. After all, she was more familiar with this place, and it was more reliable for her to escape alone.
Just think of it as... repaying him for saving her. It's okay, as long as she can get rid of these people!
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