Chapter 155 Leaving the Capital (39) What exactly are my and Yu'er's roles...?
Upon hearing Qingque's words, Jiuli was so enraged that she nearly jumped out of her skin and her seven orifices were filled with rage. She wanted to go back to her room, but she was afraid that leaving Qingque alone in the main room would leave her unsupervised and something might go wrong. Even if Qingque had no ill intentions, she was still worried about Yuqi's attitude when he returned.
So Jiuli went outside the screen, then changed her mind and called Li Mama in, saying, "Please trouble Mama to serve the guest a bowl of tea."
Having said that, he turned back to the inner room and saw Qingque sitting on the couch without the slightest restraint, her legs crossed, looking quite pleased with herself. Her face was adorned with some kind of rouge, like a rosy hue emanating from her skin; her lips were a bright, moist cherry color, only one corner of her lips curved in a smile, exuding a captivating allure tinged with a cold indifference. Her hair was still styled loosely, just as before, and adorned with the same delicate gold hairpin inlaid with Hetian jade.
Seeing that she was looking at it, Qingque took off the hairpin from her hair and handed it to her, "Do you like it?"
Jiuli immediately straightened her face, turned around and sat on the couch, "Who wants yours! I have plenty of jewelry and ornaments."
Qingque smiled at her, "I heard you're the Emperor's illegitimate daughter, whom he hasn't publicly acknowledged? You're practically a princess, so naturally you have plenty of good things. Today, when Second Master Chen was sending those things over, I even told him, 'Do you think he'd be short of these things? The Emperor has already bestowed them upon you.' Even if this father-daughter relationship can't be made public, how could a father mistreat his daughter? It's not like he's short of money."
Why does that tone sound a bit sarcastic? This guy's definitely up to no good! Jiu Li raised her chin slightly, "That's right, the Emperor has already sent me a lot of things. I have all the clothes and jewelry I need. There's no need for your Second Master Chen to come and play the weasel."
Qingque's smile instantly turned cold. "A girl who grew up in the countryside, she really hasn't seen much of the world. She's so happy about just some silks, satins, pearls, and jade."
"That's not about the things themselves, it's about the Emperor's intentions."
"A sentiment?" Qingque chuckled. "Princess Yuan is most prone to jealousy. Now another younger sister has suddenly appeared to steal the Emperor's favor. Aren't you afraid she'll hate you?"
Jiuli moved her lips twice and said, "Don't try to sow discord here. I won't fall for it. Princess Yuan and I keep to ourselves. Why would she hate me?"
"So you've decided to keep to yourself—have you forgotten that you're currently investigating her and her husband?"
Jiuli was speechless for a moment, fearing that she was sent by Chen Jia to spy on them, and that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make. But then she laughed and said, "I'm not afraid. Don't be fooled by their impressive status. They're just all bark and no bite, useless."
That was interesting. Jiu Li peered at her and suddenly remembered that she was a dancer from the former Crown Prince's residence, so she must have seen many royals and nobles. Jiu Li composed herself and tentatively asked, "Yesterday evening I saw someone on the street, dressed in men's clothing and wearing a bamboo hat. His back view looked a bit like yours."
Qingque remained calm and composed. "Really? You must be seeing things."
Seeing that she looked normal, as if she had really seen wrong, Jiu Li hadn't really seen it and didn't dare to make a judgment. She could only silently speculate about her and Chen Jia's motives.
After a while, Li Mama brought over tea. Qing Que didn't look at her, but just took a sip of tea, got up and slowly looked around the room, muttering to herself, "I wonder when Mr. Yu will be back."
Little did Yu Qi know that he had just reached the foot of the reed slope east of the city. Looking up, he could vaguely see the Wangri Pavilion, but not the Wangfeng Temple. However, this was the only road down from Wangfeng Temple, and no matter where one was going, one had to pass through here. This place happened to be a fork in the road, leading east and west to several nearby villages, and west to the city market. Therefore, there was a large wooden pavilion at this intersection, inside which was a rural teahouse.
The teahouse had four tables. Zhang Da was occupying one in the corner, sipping tea and looking around. Yu Qi walked straight to that table and threw a bundle wrapped in lotus leaves on it. "I bought this for you on the way because I thought you had nowhere to eat."
Zhang Da was both surprised and delighted. He quickly unfolded a few lotus leaves, revealing a roast chicken inside. He then called over a teahouse waiter to help steam it, ordered a pot of wine, and sent the waiter away. He then smiled at Yu Qi and said, "Why have you come, sir? Don't you trust me to handle things?"
"It's not that I was worried, but Yu'er went to the palace, and I was just sitting at home doing nothing, so I came over." Yu Qi looked towards the road at the reed slope. "Didn't see anything?"
The waiter brought over a small jar of wine, but Zhang Da waved him away. As he poured the wine into a bowl, he shook his head and said, "I've been sitting here for three hours. Twenty-four people went into the city, and thirteen went west, but I haven't seen the monks from Wangfeng Temple! According to what you said, if they have something to hide, they probably did it before dawn."
Yu Qi laughed and said, "They need to wait until dawn to enter the city."
"How can you be so sure those monks are up to no good?"
"I'm just guessing. I'll tell you the reason when I'm right."
A moment later, the waiter brought over the steamed chicken. Zhang Da tore off a leg and was gnawing on it when he suddenly saw a donkey cart winding its way along the mountain road in the reeds. The cart was loaded with hay, and a young monk in a gray robe was leading it. It seemed they were going to the city to sell hay. Yu Qi waited until the cart turned a corner towards the city and had gone quite a distance before patting Zhang Da, signaling him to follow.
Zhang Da quickly wrapped the roast chicken in lotus leaves and ate it as they walked. The two followed him into the city, but the monk didn't stop at the market and kept on his way, driving the donkey cart to the back door of a house. A strong man opened the door, and after going back and forth with the monk twice, he carried two large boxes hidden under the hay into the house.
"There really is something hidden under that hay," Zhang Da exclaimed, clicking his tongue in amazement. Hiding under the courtyard wall, he squinted and stared intently at the opposite side. "Sir, what important things are in that box? And who is that man?"
Yu Qi glanced at the man's house from afar and said, "Judging from the timber and oars piled on the wall, they probably own a boat family. The boxes probably contain valuables they intend to send out of the capital."
"Wealth?" Zhang Da turned his head. "Is the monk so rich that he has two whole chests of wealth?"
Yu Qi smiled and said, "I'm afraid this is just a small part of the story."
As they were talking, taking advantage of the monk driving the donkey cart away, the two walked towards the opposite side. After knocking a few times, the burly man returned and opened the door, looking them up and down. "Who are you?"
Yu Qi asked with a smile, "May I ask if you have any boats going out of the capital?"
The burly man said, “My boat doesn’t leave the capital. It’s just a ferry that crosses from the small dock in front to the main dock that leaves the capital. If you want to leave the capital, you need to find another passenger boat at the main dock.”
Yu Qi smiled and said, "We're not leaving the capital, but we have some goods that we'd like to take to Nanjing by ship. Do you know of any ships you know?"
The burly man stepped aside, saying, "Come in and let's talk."
As soon as he entered the courtyard, Zhang Da saw two large, lacquered black chests under the eaves, each secured with two heavy locks. He glanced at Yu Qi, then chuckled at the burly man, "I just saw a monk leave your house. What, did the monk ask you to deliver something too?"
The man laughed, “Those are monks from Wangfeng Temple outside the city. Their abbot was ordained at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and often interacts with the monks there. The abbot wants to send some clay Buddha statues to Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou to be consecrated by a high-ranking monk, so for the past two months he has been asking me to find passenger ships to Hangzhou. Don’t worry, I’ve never lost or damaged anything that guests have entrusted to me. You see, once it’s packed, I don’t even look at it. I don’t care what it is; I’m not greedy for your things.”
Zhang Da walked up to the two boxes with a smile, "If you don't want to look, we'll have to open them and take a look."
The man's expression changed, and he rushed forward to stop them, shouting, "Who are you?! What right do you have to open someone's suitcase without permission! If the customer is missing anything, who will compensate them?!"
Yu Qi took out his token and stepped forward slowly. "We are imperial envoys and are investigating Wangfeng Temple. We need to open this box to take a look. Don't worry, it's none of your business. If anything is missing, the government will compensate us."
Although the man didn't recognize the words on the sign, he could tell from the man's arrogant demeanor and the other's fierce appearance that they were indeed officials. He hesitated and dared not resist, only watching as Zhang Da picked up a stone, smashed the lock in a few blows, and lifted the lid. Inside, he saw a box filled with jewels, gold, silver, and jade.
This startled Zhang Dalian, who thought the monks from Wangfeng Temple had robbed him of his valuables. His knees buckled and he knelt down before Yu Qi, kowtowing, "Sir, sir! I really didn't know the box contained these things! The monk only said it was a Buddha statue being consecrated. I wouldn't dare lie to you two! If I'm lying, may you cut out the tongues of my whole family!"
Zhang Da hurried over to Yu Qi's side and whispered, "How did you know that Wangfeng Temple had these valuables?"
Yu Qi remained silent, then walked over to the long bench and sat down. He told the man to get up and asked, "How many times has Wangfeng Temple asked you to deliver things in the past two months?"
The man hurriedly replied, "Six times! Sometimes it was five boxes, but this time it's the least, only two boxes!"
Yu Qi remained silent for a moment, then stood up to leave. Seeing this, Zhang Da had no choice but to turn around and follow. Before they reached the courtyard gate, the man caught up and asked, "Sir, what are you going to do with these two boxes?"
Zhang Da looked at Yu Qi, who pondered for a moment and said, "Just do as the monk said, find him a boat and send him to Hangzhou."
The two walked out onto the street in a moment. Zhang Da couldn't figure it out, so he kept asking Yu Qi, "Where did Wangfeng Temple get so much gold and silver treasure? And how did you guess that it came from?"
Yu Qi glanced at him and said, "I advise you not to ask."
"Why? Could it be that these valuables are unrelated to Shuqiang's case?" Zhang Da frowned. "Didn't you only learn about Wangfeng Temple because of the Prince Consort? Could it be that these things are unrelated to the Prince Consort either?"
Yu Qi looked up and sighed, glancing at him. "If you want to stay alive and reunite with your wife and children, then don't ask. Those things may or may not be related to the Shuqiang case, but they are of great importance and beyond our ability to investigate thoroughly. You go back first. I need to see the Imperial Son-in-Law, Chu Minzhong. If Yu'er returns, just make up some story to cover up what happened today."
Seeing his solemn expression, Zhang Da didn't dare to ask any questions. He simply hired a carriage on the street, got off near the Qi residence, and went inside. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the guest courtyard, Zhang Da heard the laughter of a strange woman. The voice was so alluring that it seemed to bewitch him, and it quietly lured Zhang Da into the main room.
A clear breeze shone through the window, illuminating Jiu Li sitting in the inner room with a woman. The woman had alluring eyes and bright red lips, and was smiling mockingly. Jiu Li sat at one end, glaring angrily.
“This is the Qi family home. Whether I leave or not is none of your business. I'm here to see Mr. Yu. If anyone wants to kick me out, it's him. You can't do it anyway. I'd like to ask you, have you always been so narrow-minded?”
Jiuli slammed her hand on the kang table. "You were the one who was impolite first, calling me a greenhorn!"
Qingque glanced disdainfully at her chest, asking, "What else are you but a little brat?"
Jiuli lowered her head and looked at herself for a moment, then immediately straightened her chest and raised her head, "I'm just a young girl, and you're a middle-aged woman!"
Qingque feigned a smile, covering her mouth. "Whether I'm old or not doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm the same age as your uncle. He's turning thirty this year, and I'm twenty-seven."
Although she was about the same age as Guan Youjun, she was much more difficult to deal with. No matter how many harsh words she said, she remained unmoved, completely impervious to reason! Jiuli was furious and embarrassed, and suddenly slammed her hand on the table, about to curse, when Zhang Da suddenly appeared out of nowhere, ran to the bedside and bowed to Qingque, "This young lady looks unfamiliar, may I ask where you are from?"
Seeing the smile plastered all over his face, Jiu Li became even more furious and put her hands on her hips, "Brother Zhang, when did you get back?"
"I just got back and heard strangers talking in this house, so I came to see what was going on." Zhang Da then turned to Qingque with a fawning smile, "May I ask your name, young lady? Are you a friend of Xiaoyuer?"
Qingque simply smiled and nodded, "Qingque."
Jiuli glared at Zhang Da. "Where's your uncle? Isn't he with you?"
"No, has the master not returned yet?"
Jiuli had no choice but to sit down, and said coldly to Qingque, "Did you hear that? My uncle is still nowhere to be found. Don't bother waiting, or you'll just be wasting your time!"
Qingque replied, "I'm a free man anyway, and besides, waiting for Mr. Yu is my main business. How can it be considered waiting in vain?"
Seeing that Qingque seemed to be deliberately going against Jiuli, Zhang Da had no choice but to secretly pull Jiuli aside and ask, "Who is this Qingque? Why is she waiting for you, sir?"
Jiuli retorted loudly, "I don't know who it is! They're shameless, insisting on bothering Uncle!"
Seeing that she was angry, Qingque became even happier and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter that I don't have a proper status today. Anyway, in the future, my status will be your aunt." With that, she got up and went to the bedroom. "Since we're just waiting around anyway, I might as well tidy up the house for your uncle first, and let you see that your aunt is not only good at singing and dancing, but also very virtuous."
Seeing Jiuli about to pounce on her like a cat, Zhang Da quickly pulled her back, "Never mind, let her tidy up. There's nothing important in Mr. Yu's room. What did this girl do to deserve this?"
Jiuli, angry, didn't answer, but glared and said, "Where did Uncle go?!"
Zhang Da feigned ignorance again, saying, "I don't know, I didn't see him today."
Meanwhile, Yu Qi immediately ordered his coachman to hurry to the Prince Consort's residence. After paying the fare, he got out of the carriage and slowly walked to the front gate of the residence. He hesitated and lingered at the bottom of the stone steps. Just as he was about to leave, a steward ran down from the gate and asked, "Is this Mr. Yu Qi?"
Yu Qi turned around and looked at him. "You know me?"
The steward laughed and said, "I don't know him, but I've heard our Prince Consort mention him."
"What did your prince consort say about me?"
"It's nothing. He only described the gentleman's appearance and said that if he saw the gentleman in front of our door in the next two days, there was no need to announce his arrival. He simply invited the gentleman to come in and talk."
Yu Qi was caught in a dilemma. After a moment of silence, he had no choice but to follow him into the main room, around the inner room, and to the back room. Chu Minzhong heard the noise and hurriedly got up to greet him, bowing and instructing the maid to bring tea, fruit, and snacks, and to invite Yu Qi to sit down.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Minzhong asked the purpose of their visit. Yu Qi laughed and said, "Wasn't it the Prince Consort who invited me in? Why are you asking me the same question?"
Minzhong also laughed and said, "I did instruct the people at the door to invite you in if they see you at the door. But as for why you came to my door, you'll have to ask you."
"Since Your Excellency guessed that I would come, why don't you guess why I came?"
Minzhong observed his expression, dismissed the servants in the room, and then smiled and asked, "May I ask Mr. Yu, have you investigated Wangfeng Temple?"
Yu Qi was slightly surprised that he would speak so frankly first.
Minzhong guessed from his eyes and smiled, "Did you find out that the monks of Wangfeng Temple are transporting valuables out of the capital?"
Yu Qi's surprise turned to laughter, "The Prince Consort sent someone to follow me?"
Minzhong remained calm and composed, saying, "Sir, you are overthinking things. With your keen senses, if I had sent someone to follow you, you would have noticed long ago. I just remembered that you followed me to the reed slope yesterday and asked about Wangfeng Temple, so you must have investigated. I wonder how you dealt with those two items?"
"So, you admit that those valuables came from the Prince Consort's residence?"
Minzhong paused, took a sip of tea, and slowly put the teacup down. "I'm more curious about how you guessed that there were valuables from my household inside Wangfeng Temple?"
"I heard that ever since Consort Chen started having nightmares in the palace two months ago, many royal relatives and nobles in the capital have been praying to Buddha for her. However, the princess, who has always been at odds with Consort Chen, has also been going to great lengths and spending money for her, which has made me a little suspicious. Until yesterday, when I saw the prince consort go to Wangfeng Temple, I became curious. Most of those high-ranking officials and nobles send gifts to royal temples or famous temples, but only the prince consort sent gifts to that little-known temple to worship Buddha. This is even more strange, so today I went to the reed slope to wait for them to come to me."
As he spoke, Yu Qi glanced at him, his eyes turning somewhat cold. "I didn't expect that I would actually be able to keep watch. A monk from Wangfeng Temple sent two boxes of gold and silver jewelry to a boatman's house, asking the boatman to find a reliable boat to deliver them to Hangzhou."
Actually, there was another reason behind it all. His encounter with Guan Youjun at Wangfeng Temple yesterday only fueled his suspicions. Guan Youjun was always someone who wouldn't go anywhere without a reason, so she made a point of going to that remote mountain temple and even told him and Jiuli that the princess had also sent things to the temple. She probably felt something was amiss, which is why she went to Wangfeng Temple to investigate.
Furthermore, when he noticed that Youjun's attitude was not as warm as before, he realized that she must have vaguely guessed something important, and that she was being less cautious because she was afraid of being implicated.
Yu Qi paused for a moment, then continued, "According to the boatman, Wangfeng Temple asked him to deliver goods several times in the past two months. I'm afraid the total amount of money sent out must be at least 100,000 taels of gold."
A hint of panic flashed across Minzhong's face as she looked down at him. "Sir, you confiscated those two boxes?"
After a moment of silence, Yu Qi shook his head. "No."
Minzhong then smiled in relief, "I knew long ago that although you were acting on imperial orders, you possessed a strong sense of righteousness and could not bear to see treacherous officials in power and the people suffering—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Qi hurriedly shook his hand, “Your Highness the Imperial Son-in-Law studies the classics for the sake of the country and the people. I, Yu, have no such ambition. My imperial order is to thoroughly investigate the case of Shu Qiang. I don’t want to get involved in other matters, and I’m afraid I won’t have the life to do so. I just want to find out the truth of this case as soon as possible so that I can take Yu’er back to Nanjing.”
Minzhong thought for a moment and realized that Jiuli's nickname was "Fish". He smiled and shook his head, "If you are really indifferent, and you are not here to interrogate me, nor do you intend to report me to the court, then why did you come to my Prince Consort's residence today? Is it just out of curiosity?"
Yu Qi stood up with a smile. "That's one of my flaws. Once I've uncovered a clue, I want to know the truth. I didn't mean to disturb you, but I just wanted to ask, what exactly are Yu'er and my roles in your game?"
As they were talking, Xiangyuan emerged from behind the screen. "My brother said that Mr. Yu and your Yu'er are incredibly intelligent and can solve any mystery. So, he set up this trap to lure Mr. Yu here, so that the world can see how treacherous officials frame loyal ministers, how the emperor stands idly by, and how my brother was forced to raise an army to force the emperor to abdicate."
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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