Chapter 151 Afraid You'll Gone with the Wind
Should I take Rongrong next door?
Qin Yanzhou's back tensed up involuntarily. He subconsciously looked at Dai Li, only to see his mother looking back into the house, seemingly worried that his father's words had been overheard by the people inside.
Mom didn't notice...
Qin Yanzhou then looked at Shi Rongyue, who was also looking at him. After their eyes met, the girl took two steps toward the courtyard entrance.
Scenes flashed through Qin Yanzhou's mind: his time in kindergarten, his time fleeing famine and eating grass roots, his time in the Qinglian Sect, and his reunion with his mother.
He lowered his eyes for a moment, and when he looked up again, the turmoil in his dark eyes had subsided. "Rongrong, come with me."
As they walked out of the village chief's courtyard, Shi Rongyuehui, remembering the agreement, asked, "Brother Chongle, how did your bandit suppression go?"
Qin Yanzhou understood what she meant, "It went smoothly overall, but there was a small problem..."
"What happened?" Shi Rongyue asked hurriedly before he could finish speaking. "Brother Chongle, are you injured?"
Her face, which had just regained some color, turned pale with fright again as she nervously looked at him. But because she was walking on Qin Yanzhou's left, she didn't notice anything amiss.
Qin Yanzhou hadn't expected her reaction, and his steps faltered for a moment. The young man shook his head, simply saying, "Rongrong, could you do me a favor?"
She was still looking him up and down when she heard those words, and nodded without hesitation, "Sure! Brother Chongle, what do you say?"
The nod was quite pronounced, causing the tuft of hair on Shi Rongyue's head to sway violently.
Qin Yanzhou suddenly had a strange feeling that the adorable puppy from the old professor's neighbor's house had returned.
Its light brown fur was fluffy like cotton candy, and its eyes gleamed with a honey-like luster in the sunlight. It especially loved playing with him, happily accepting everything he threw, whether it was a ball or a small command.
In the world of puppies, there is no gloom.
Two pairs of equally clear eyes seemed to slowly overlap across time and space, and Qin Yanzhou couldn't help but smile slightly, "Rongrong, do you know needlework?"
The topic changed so quickly that Shi Rongyue nodded honestly, though she was a little confused.
Very few women in this world are not skilled in needlework. Daughters from ordinary families would help ease the burden on their families through embroidery, while young ladies from prominent families would embroider their own wedding dresses.
This is why, when Dai Li first asked Nian Xia and Bi Po to teach her needlework, the two of them were so surprised that their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
As they spoke, the two arrived at Shi Rongyue's residence from the previous night.
She stayed at the house of Widow Wang, which was next to the village chief's house, about ten steps away. Previously, when bandits attacked the village, the defense line centered on Dai Li extended all the way to this house.
Widow Wang refused to leave her room, so Shi Rongyue led Qin Yanzhou into the side room and had a maid stand guard outside the door.
The houses in the village are mostly simple, and this place is no exception, with only a bed, a cabinet, and a desk. However, the room is very clean, and there is a delicate little incense burner in the corner.
A faint fragrance filled the air, very refreshing, like orchids in bloom.
Qin Yanzhou sat down at the table, raised his right arm, and pointed to the tear in his right sleeve with his left hand. "Rongrong, please help me sew this tear closed."
Only then did Shi Rongyue notice the tear in his sleeve, her pupils narrowing slightly. "Brother Chongle, are you really hurt?"
"It's nothing serious, just a minor injury." Qin Yanzhou urged, "There's not much time, Rongrong, sew it up first."
Shi Rongyue rummaged through the small box and took out a needle and thread, then knelt down beside him. Her small hands were chubby, but surprisingly nimble; she threaded the silver needle with a swift motion.
Qin Yanzhou is going to war today. In addition to wearing black armor and a shoulder cloak, he also has sleeves tied around his forearms. The sleeves are tied up, and the rips at the elbows are also tightly closed.
He deftly removed the cuffs and unfurled his wide sleeves.
There is enough space; you don't need to remove the clothes.
Shi Rongyue grabbed the corner of his sleeve, her eyelashes trembling a few times, trying her best to focus her attention on the tear in the sleeve, but she still couldn't stop a wisp of thought from spreading wildly.
She smelled the mixture of grass and blood.
The blood that used to disgust her seemed to have transformed into a different flavor when mixed with the scent of grass, as if it had been transformed into some kind of wine, making one feel slightly tipsy as one smelled it.
Shi Rongyue lowered her head even further, afraid that the people around her would notice the strangeness on her face.
The young girl held a needle in one hand and tugged at the young man's clothes with the other, continuing to thread the robe with the silver needle.
No one spoke in the room, only the soft sound of needle and thread passing through the clothes.
Shi Rongyue's head drooped lower and lower, but the loud thuds grew louder and louder.
Qin Yanzhou was thinking about what would happen next when he came to his senses and found a small head almost buried in his arms.
"Rongrong?" Qin Yanzhou asked in confusion, "Are you nearsighted?"
"……ah!"
*
The younger generation was busy sewing clothes, while Dai Li remained in the main courtyard. Initially, she wanted to leave with her son, but Qin Shaozong told her that the boy was alright and that they still needed her here.
And indeed, some things did happen later.
Guo Nai's remaining arm was cut off by bandits when she came looking for her; normally, stopping the bleeding would have been sufficient.
As long as the person is still alive, that's enough.
As soon as Ding Lianxi finished bandaging him, less than fifteen minutes later, Guo Nai's lips suddenly turned black, and he vomited a mouthful of blood. His eyes rolled back and he died.
The change happened so fast that Ding Lianxi had no time to react and could only watch helplessly as the person fell down.
Shen Tianming was dumbfounded and blurted out, "What did you put in his wound?"
"You're spouting nonsense!" Ding Lianxi was so angry that he abandoned his doctor's demeanor. "I only stopped his bleeding and never did anything else."
"Guo Changshi's lips are black, which is undoubtedly due to poisoning. He was perfectly fine before, so why did he suddenly die after you came into contact with him?" Shen Tianming asked rhetorically.
Ding Lianxi was wronged, "Of course he was already poisoned before he arrived."
Shen Tianming scoffed, "As a physician, how could you not have noticed if he had been poisoned before? Yet you didn't mention it at all, which is clearly intentional."
Ding Lianxi gritted his teeth and said, "Stopping the bleeding from a severed arm can't be delayed. Where would I find the time to take so many steps of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation?"
"Eloquent and persuasive," Shen Tianming simply said.
"General Shen." The cold, deep voice fell, carrying an undisguised sharpness.
Shen Tianming's expression darkened further.
Qin Shaozong said calmly, "General Shen, don't forget that the prisoners captured during the night raid also died from poison. The enemy was skilled in using poison, and their initial attack on the camp was aimed directly at you. General Shen, have you considered that the imperial troops were their real target?"
Shen Tianming retorted, "We didn't encounter any so-called passersby when we set up camp that day. If they were real bandits, how could they know where we were setting up camp?"
Ultimately, he still suspected that the North was controlling everything.
Qin Shaozong clicked his tongue lightly, unwilling to waste his breath on such a fool.
"My lord, the bandit leader has been captured!" Feng Feng's voice came from outside.
Upon hearing this, the people inside the house went out.
Dai Li hadn't gone inside yet, but had only stood outside listening to their argument. Now, seeing Feng Feng and Hu Bao arrive together, with a man bound hand and foot, she realized that...
The man was plain-looking, with tanned skin, looking no different from a farmer. However, when he saw Shen Tianming coming out with Qin Shaozong, he suddenly blurted out, "I hope Your Excellency will not break your promise."
The expressions of everyone present changed.
“You brat, stop talking nonsense! When has the Lord ever promised you anything?” Feng Feng rebuked.
Hu Bao retorted angrily, "You bastard, you clearly know you're at your wit's end, so you just resort to making baseless accusations."
Dai Li glanced at Deng Qianfeng, then looked at Shen Tianming, whose face was ashen and whose forehead veins were faintly visible, clearly on the verge of exploding in rage.
"Mr. Ding, quickly check this man's pulse to see if he has been poisoned," Dai Li reminded him.
Feng and Hu suddenly realized what was happening. They didn't have time to argue with Deng Qianfeng anymore. They quickly pushed the man in front of Ding Lianxi and made him take his pulse.
As expected, upon investigation, Deng Qianfeng was also found to be poisoned.
I won't go into the details of the subsequent detoxification efforts, but in short, Qin Qinian, who returned with Bai Jianping and the others, found the atmosphere in the village to be quite tense upon his return.
After learning the whole story, Qin Qinian trembled with anger: "Absurd! My father wanted to kill him, why would he need to use poison?"
Qin Yanzhou stopped the boy who was about to turn and leave, saying, "Let's wait until the bandit leader is cured of the poison first. Don't cause any trouble now."
One of the imperial court's leaders has already died; if another one were to die, it would be difficult to explain.
Bai Jianping continued his report, "...My lord, I interrogated several survivors, and their testimonies were consistent with the 119 members of the stronghold. But after counting the corpses and the remaining survivors, the total number was only 110."
Nine people are missing.
The stronghold was located on the mountainside, and these nine people likely took advantage of the chaos to escape into the mountains.
Qin Shaozong twirled his ring. "That's normal. There are always some particularly clever ones. But it's alright. These people won't dare to come back, so they definitely won't interfere with what happens next."
Bai Jianping nodded, then hesitated for a moment.
"Is there anything else?" Qin Shaozong asked.
When asked by his superiors, Bai Jianping could only say, "My lord, among the rescued women, one claimed to be from Qingzhou, a maidservant of the eldest daughter of Nangong Qingzhou. She said she was ordered by her lord to come to Yanzhou to serve Lady Nangong, but the journey was fraught with danger. While purchasing goods in a small county on the border of Qingzhou and Yanzhou, she was kidnapped. Later, she managed to escape, but her luck was bad; she escaped one danger only to fall into another. I asked her about Nangong Qingzhou's appearance and the names of her family members, and she answered correctly. Her identity is most likely true."
Qin Shaozong raised his long eyebrows slightly, his focus elsewhere, "Nangong Xiong has brought his daughter to Yanzhou?"
Yanzhou was taken by an alliance between Beidi and Qingzhou. Beidi was a large territory with many affairs, and he was in a hurry to return to Yuyang to get married, so he left behind his trusted confidants and a group of Xuanxiao cavalry before leading his army north.
He wasn't surprised that Nangong Xiong was in Yanzhou, but he was surprised that the other party had brought his daughter with him.
Qin Shaozong: "Bring that maidservant here."
Bai Jianping accepted the order, and soon a disheveled young woman was brought before Qin Shaozong.
When Wenxin arrived, she already knew who she was to see, and immediately bowed down tremblingly, saying, "This servant greets Marquis Wu'an and his wife."
Qin Shaozong cut to the chase, "You previously said you came to Yanzhou to serve the young mistress on the orders of your lord. When did your young lady go to Yanzhou?"
Wenxin dared not hide the truth, "It was late winter last year."
Dai Li pondered for a moment.
Last winter...
She remembered that last winter, Qin Changgeng had mentioned that the war in the south had been settled, and Liu Jingzhou had annexed Yizhou, becoming the overlord of the south.
Why did Nangong Xiong take his daughter away from Qingzhou at this time? Was he planning to form a marriage alliance with the southern forces?
But Dai Li felt it was unlikely. Qingzhou bordered Ji and Yan to the east and Xuzhou to the south. Leaving aside the former, the latter was essentially separated by a group of governors who were nominally under the control of the imperial court. He and Liu Jingzhou, who was in the south, were thousands of miles apart. There was no reason for him to extend an olive branch to Liu Jingzhou. Wasn't he afraid of being rejected?
Dai Li didn't understand.
Qin Shaozong remained silent for a moment, then waved the two away.
The Nangong family is not the focus now; the focus is on the upcoming "imperial edict"...
"Things are almost ready in Chang'an. Bring me that half of the gold and jade axle." Qin Shaozong looked at Feng Feng, whose eyes lit up and he readily agreed.
Upon hearing the name "Golden Jade Axle," Dai Li's lips twitched.
Qin Shaozong, with his sharp eyes, asked, "What's with that expression, Madam?"
"I admire your ability to reuse old things," Dai Li said, looking away.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the courtyard, Qin Shaozong turned her head back, saying, "Since you admire your husband, why don't you look at him?"
Dai Li: "...I'm afraid he'll drift away with the wind."
Qin Shaozong chuckled.
*
"Impossible! Why would His Majesty summon you to the capital?" Shen Tianming looked at Qin Shaozong as if he had seen a ghost. "Where is the imperial edict? Where is His Majesty's imperial edict?"
Qin Shaozong slowly took out a piece of gold and jade scroll. The gold and jade scroll was not alone; it was also attached to a small piece of tattered silk fabric.
Judging solely from the material, this is indeed an imperial edict used by the emperor.
Qin Shaozong: "The messenger carrying the imperial edict originally headed north, but later learned that I had changed my route and come to Yanzhou, so he came after me. However, he had been traveling day and night without rest, and the messenger was exhausted. Therefore, when he encountered the remnants of the fleeing mountain bandits, he was unable to resist them, and the whole army was almost wiped out."
Shen Tianming was dumbfounded, but still insisted on saying "Impossible".
“What’s impossible? As one of the leaders who delivered the edict, surely General Shen recognizes the material of this edict?” Qin Shaozong said again.
Shen Tianming recognized them, of course. He avoided answering and only said, "You just said that the messengers were almost wiped out. Since it was 'almost,' then they haven't been. Where are they? Tell them to come to me!"
Qin Shaozong remained calm. "He's barely clinging to life and is currently undergoing intensive care. I'm afraid he won't be able to come to see you. General Shen, Chang'an is in complete chaos. What is your purpose in preventing me from entering the capital? If the Emperor is harmed by treacherous officials, can you bear the charge of plotting against the Han royal family?"
Shen Tianming was speechless for a long time before finally managing to utter, "Why is Chang'an in such chaos?"
Qin Shaozong replied, "The messenger only said that a prophecy had been born in Chang'an, suggesting that there were traitors in the city colluding with outsiders, but the specific nature of the prophecy is still unknown."
-----------------------
Author's Note: The next chapter will feature a map of Chang'an [droopy-eared rabbit head]
The small fragment of the jade scroll that Old Qin was holding was originally an imperial edict for Dai Li. [Dog head with rose in hand]
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