Chapter 132 Leaving the Capital (Sixteen) Entering the Capital.
That day, when Youjun woke up, she didn't see Jiuli sleeping beside her. She got up and looked behind the screen. She saw Jiuli sitting under the window in front of her, her elbows resting on the table, staring blankly at her palm, as if she were holding something in her hand. A thin moon was pasted on the window, and there was a brazier under the table, the charcoal in it had mostly gone out.
"The east is about to dawn, and it's the coldest time of day. Why are you sitting up without even adding charcoal?" Although Youjun was a seasoned businessman, she had never done such chores as adding firewood and water to serve others. At this moment, her heart softened, and she went to the corner to pick up a charcoal basket to add charcoal. "When did you get up?"
Jiuli placed her hands on the table and gave her a forced smile. "I woke up when I heard someone get up in the lower deck."
The crew in the lower deck always get up at 5:30 a.m. to change shifts. Last night, I could almost hear her sobbing past 1:30 a.m. She's only slept for a few hours. Youjun sighed softly, pulled her cloak tighter, and sat down at the table. She reached out and took the thing from her hand. It turned out to be the old double fish playing with lotus pendant that had been melted in half.
"This gold pendant was a gift I gave to Zhong'er, and he broke it in half and gave one to you?"
Jiuli nodded. "Back then, I almost went back to Suzhou with the old lady. I knew he couldn't bear to part with me, but he wouldn't admit it."
When Youjun thought of Du Zhong, she naturally thought of her younger brother Guan Zhan. Suddenly, she felt the two fish biting her hand. She quickly put them on the table and said with a wry smile, "This thing is probably unlucky. Don't carry it with you anymore."
Jiuli also realized that Guan Zhan was killed by her, but Du Zhong was killed by her own actions. They were both older sisters, and she had failed in her duties. She put the two fish pendants back into her bosom, and a tear accidentally fell as she lowered her head.
“You child—” Youjun paused, then continued, “Who in this world doesn’t die? You’re still young. You’ll understand later. Your closest and dearest will leave you one by one. You can’t escape it. You can’t sleep or eat now. What will you do in the future?”
"I don't have my aunt's courage."
Youjun smiled and said, "Why don't you just say I'm heartless?"
As they were talking, Niangzhuang got dressed and helped Youjun wash up before going down to the cabin to fetch breakfast. Youjun urged Jiuli to eat while asking Niangzhuang if Yuqi and the others had eaten.
Jiuli then interjected, "My uncle never eats breakfast; he only drinks a bowl of tea."
Youjun then realized that it was indeed the case; she had been on the same boat with Yuqi these past few days and had never seen him eat breakfast. When she asked Jiuli why, Jiuli said, "When he was a child, he traveled around with his master to practice medicine. His eating and sleeping times were irregular, and he often missed breakfast. He got used to it."
"Who is Mr. Yu's master?"
Jiuli remembered that Yu Qi had once told her not to tell anyone, so she smiled and shook her head, "I don't know. Why does Auntie want to ask him?"
"It's nothing. I just thought Mr. Yu's medical skills are superb, and his master must have been an extraordinary figure as well, so I asked. Let's eat."
After reluctantly ordering tea, Jiuli fixed her hair, brewed some tea, and personally delivered it to the cabin at the foot of the bed. She saw the door was open, with a thick curtain hanging on it. Peeking inside, she saw that Xu Bai and Zhang Da were not in the room; only Yu Qi was washing his face in front of the washbasin. She carried the tea in and placed it on the table, but didn't leave or speak, simply standing awkwardly before the table.
Since arriving on this ship, Yu Qi had often been silent and hadn't spoken much to her. She knew it was because of Du Zhong's death; he couldn't help but feel guilty, and within just two or three days, he appeared depressed and haggard.
She waited patiently for him to finish washing his face and come over before quietly asking him, "Where are Brother Zhang and the others?"
"I went downstairs to have breakfast." Yu Qi barely looked at her, went straight to sit down in the chair, and seeing that she didn't speak or leave, he asked again, "Have you eaten yet?"
She nodded quietly. Yu Qi looked up at her, but she immediately lowered her eyes to the ground, as if she dared not look him in the eye.
He sighed, wanting to touch her face but lacking the strength, he could only reach out and grasp her hand. Her hand was icy cold, and he couldn't bear to treat her coldly, so he asked, "Eating so early, what time did you get up?"
Jiuli took two small steps to stand in front of him, her eyes brimming with tears, and forced a smile. "I only got up a little earlier than you."
He could tell she was lying the moment he saw her swollen eyelids. He figured she probably hadn't slept all night thinking about Du Zhong, so he took her hand and gently guided her to the other side of the table. "Go sit down and warm up. I have something to tell you."
She sat down, her eyes filled with tears, and glanced at him timidly. "I'll accept whatever you scold me, I won't object if you hit me, and I won't complain even if you make me pay for Du Zhong's life."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" He smiled gently. There was a charcoal brazier on the table. He gently kicked it in front of her and spoke patiently and tenderly, "You don't need to blame yourself for Zhong'er's matter. You two grew up together since you were little. If he were alive, he wouldn't be able to bear seeing you blame yourself all day long. In truth, it's my fault. I didn't take good care of you."
Hearing this, Jiuli felt her nose sting even more, and she lowered her head even further, tears falling onto her legs like shards of ice stinging her skin. "I know it was my disobedience that caused this trouble. If I don't even feel remorse, then I'm truly heartless, and I wouldn't have the face to meet Du Zhong even after I die—"
Knowing he couldn't dissuade her, Yu Qi changed his question and asked, "Why do you insist on going to the capital?"
She stammered, "I originally thought that if my biological father really was the emperor, as long as he acknowledged me, I would be a princess in the future, and no one would dare to criticize our relationship—"
Not wanting to harm Du Zhong because of her own selfishness, she spoke in a lower voice, not daring to look at him. She felt that crying would not help, and was afraid that her pretense would make her seem weak and escapist, so she raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
Little did she know that even immense power cannot control what people think. Yu Qi didn't want to waste words on this matter; at this moment, her safety was more important than personal feelings. So he smiled reassuringly, "This trip to the capital is fraught with danger. Remember to listen to me and don't run around or say anything reckless."
Jiuli pursed her lips and nodded, "Do you think Prince Zhao might have been framed by the Chen family? If we investigate Prince Zhao's case, can we avenge Du Zhong?"
Yu Qi sighed, "This case is indeed strange. How could someone dare to get drunk and lose their mind in the palace? Even if he is a prince, he wouldn't dare to be so unrestrained. Moreover, this is not like the behavior of Prince Zhao."
"As long as it is found that Consort Chen framed them, the Chen family will surely be punished!"
If the Chen family truly dared to commit murder and frame Prince Zhao, they would have done it flawlessly; otherwise, how could they have fooled the eyes of all the civil and military officials? Finding out the truth would certainly not be easy, especially since it involved a favored concubine in the palace—he remained silent, slightly raising his face. To seek revenge, he needed to devise a plan to prepare for any eventuality.
After a while, he looked at her again and instructed, "Don't easily trust Qi Xubai in the future."
Jiuli nodded, then suddenly remembered the servant Jiang Xu, and her expression changed.
Yu Qi sensed something was amiss and asked, tilting his head, "What are you thinking about?"
"Now that you mention it, something comes to mind."
"What's up?"
"Aunt Guo said that when we first left Nanjing, Jiang Xu's boat followed us. I saw him then and even pointed him out to Xu Bai, asking him if he recognized him. He said he didn't." She swallowed, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine. "But you and I only went to the inn where Chen Jia was staying once, and I felt that Jiang Xu looked familiar. Xu Bai went there frequently because of the Qinglian Temple case. Even if he didn't recognize him, he should have felt he looked familiar. Why didn't he mention it to me then, and instead told me—"
Yu Qi's expression was stern. "Don't hide anything he said. Tell me everything."
"He said maybe I was mistaken, or maybe I just bumped into him by chance in the city and that's why he looked familiar." At this point, she turned to him with a deathly pale face. "Do you think he might be deliberately trying to distract me?"
Yu Qi stared at her with his dark eyes for a while, then slowly leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs and pondering to himself, listening intently to the rushing water outside the window.
Fearing further snowfall and the river freezing over, making travel difficult, the Ding family has expedited their journey by boat starting today, expecting to reach the capital in about seven or eight days. Xu Bai stood at the bow, frequently turning his head to look back. He still hadn't seen Jiu Li coming from the stern, and he wondered what the uncle and nephew were saying inside.
He had been worried day and night for the past two or three days, fearing that Yu Qi would see through his deliberate ignoring of the plot to harm Du Zhong. Seeing Yu Qi's extraordinary skills that day, it seemed the Prince Zhao's guess was correct; the extra male corpses found in the manor that year were indeed Yu Qi's doing. If such a ruthless person discovered this, wouldn't he hate him even more? He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
However, those who aspire to great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters. The officialdom and career path have always been fraught with bloodshed. He has already lost his family and his family. He is just gambling with his life. Why should he be afraid of adding another enemy?
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard footsteps. It was Jiu Li coming from the stern of the boat. He quickly turned around and saw that her eyes looked like she had been crying, and her expression was still sorrowful, just like before. He felt relieved, but at the same time, he felt a pang of heartache. In fact, what he was afraid of was that Jiu Li would hate him if she found out.
He wanted to walk towards her, but a sudden feeling of timidity made him unable to move.
After several days of calm, they arrived in the capital and bid farewell to Youjun and her party at the dock. Xu Bai led Yu Qi and the others to stay at the old residence. Before they could settle their luggage, one of Zhao Wang's guards led Zou Chang, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in charge of the case, into the residence. Xu Bai hurriedly invited him to the hall and sent servants to invite Yu Qi, Jiu Li, and Zhang Da to the hall to inquire about the case.
Although Zou Chang had never met Xu Bai, he had received a verbal order from King Zhao and therefore trusted him. However, upon seeing two unfamiliar faces in the hall, he cut his sleeves and asked, "Who are these gentlemen?"
Xu Bai hurriedly introduced them, "This is Mr. Yu Qiyu, a renowned physician and also the advisor to Lord Yanshu; this young lady is Mr. Yu's niece, and she is also thoughtful and insightful; this is Constable Zhang. Several murder cases in Nanjing were solved thanks to the assistance of these three, so I have specially invited them here to help clear the Prince's name."
He then invited Zou Chang to sit in the chair at the head of the table, intending to kneel and pay his respects. Zou Chang, who showed his approachable manner upon their first meeting, quickly helped him up, saying, "There's no need for such a grand ceremony. I knew you were going to the capital, so I sent someone to the docks to inquire about your whereabouts. I heard early this morning that you had already arrived home, and I couldn't wait any longer, so I came to your residence to find you."
As she spoke, she turned her smiling face to Yu Qi and looked him over carefully. "I have heard the Prince mention this Mr. Yu before. He is not only a divine doctor, but also a genius at solving cases." Then, she focused on looking at Jiu Li, her eyes filled with amazement and admiration. "I have also heard of this Miss Yu. Seeing her today, I can see that she lives up to her reputation."
He then ordered the others to sit down, his eyes still lingering on Jiu Li, before turning his gaze back to Xu Bai, a hint of ambiguity in his eyes.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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