Chapter 52 The Fragrance of Mother-of-Pearl (15) Who can have a sweeter tongue than her?
The rain was still falling. Yu Qi and Zhang Da finally found the Han family home, only to find it in ruins, with crumbling walls and four children of varying ages sitting under the eaves picking vegetables. Some were barefoot, others wore only bibs, without even a proper coat. The girl sitting at the head of the group looked about two years older than Jiu Li, her neck bent as she shelled beans. She must be the old Han's daughter that Auntie had mentioned.
When Han Er Guniang looked up, she saw the two of them standing outside the collapsed courtyard wall, staring intently into the courtyard. She suddenly became timid, turned her head to look into the house, hesitated for a moment, put down the basket on her lap, walked out of the courtyard and asked, "Are you here to see my family?"
Zhang Da asked, "Is your family name Han?"
Han Er Guniang lowered her head and nodded slightly. Yu Qi noticed that her two eyelashes were thick and curled, with tiny jade beads hanging from them, which reminded him of Jiu Li. He then covered her head with the umbrella and his tone softened, "You know who we are and why we came, don't you?"
Zhang Da was taken aback by his soft tone and couldn't help but glance at him.
Miss Han raised her head to look at him, then lowered it even further. "Are you officials from the yamen?"
Seeing Yu Qi nod, she lowered her voice further, "Did you come to see my father?"
Zhang Da said, "No, we're here to see you. We have a few questions to ask you."
Han Er Guniang glanced into the courtyard, gently tugged at their sleeves and pulled them forward a short distance until they were out of sight. Then she let go and said, "If you have any questions, just ask me. Don't ask my mother. She's not well and can't take a fright."
Zhang Da smiled and said, "It seems you guessed what we're going to ask you."
After a long pause, she nodded resignedly, "Is it related to Miss Yan'er's death?"
Zhang Da chuckled again, "You went to the Lu family before dawn today, didn't you? Why are you in such a hurry to find your father?"
The second young lady of Han thought to herself, "They even know this. It seems I can't hide it from them." So she had no choice but to tell the truth: "Yesterday afternoon I heard that Miss Yan'er died a violent death, so I thought I would go and ask my father."
"What do you want to ask your father?"
She bit her lip and after a long pause, she said, "At the beginning of the month, my father came home and complained a lot about Miss Yan'er. He said that the month had just started and Miss Yan'er had already found a reason to deduct fifty coins from his pay. There was still more than half of the month left, and who knew how much more she would deduct. He was very angry when he talked about it, and he said that if she angered him, he would just fight her to the death."
After saying that, she quickly raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, and shook her head repeatedly. "But he had been drinking then, he must have been talking nonsense! I don't believe my father would kill someone, he has always been an honest man!"
Yu Qi looked at her, his heart softening slightly. "Your father said it's a case of 'white knife in, red knife out,' right?"
"That's what he said, but he doesn't dare to do it!"
Yu Qi thought for a moment, then nodded to her, "It's alright, you can go in now. Your father will be home in a few days."
Han Er Guniang's eyes widened, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away and slowly walked back along the wall, glancing back at him several times with a mixture of disbelief and hope.
Turning around, Zhang Da looked at him with the same confusion. "Sir, what do you mean by this? What do you mean by saying his father will be home in a few days? Isn't it obvious that Old Han killed him? He said it himself!"
Yu Qi continued walking forward, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was he who said it, which precisely proves that he didn't do it.
Zhang Da hurriedly caught up, "What do you mean by that?"
"I ask you, if you intended to kill someone, what would you carry with you when you sneaked into your enemy's house at night?"
Zhang Da immediately thought, "It must be the murder weapon."
Yu Qi glanced at him. "Right, then why was the murder weapon Lu Yan'er's handkerchief hanging on the rack? If Lao Han intended to kill someone, the knife in the kitchen would be his most convenient weapon. Besides, he's a cook, someone who's used to using knives. Why would he just use a handkerchief to strangle someone?"
Zhang Da thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense. He raised his hand and scratched his face. "In that case, Old Han's suspicion is lessened."
Yu Qi suddenly stopped, paused for a moment, then turned around abruptly, "Let's go, to the Lu family."
The two braved the rain to reach the Lu family's house, but instead of entering, they went straight to the passageway behind the kitchen to investigate. The passageway was filled with various odds and ends: rusty iron pots, broken wooden buckets and basins, and damaged steamers. Zhang Da followed Yu Qi, bending over and searching everywhere, seemingly looking for nothing in particular. But seeing him rummaging through every nook and cranny, he followed suit.
Finally, Yu Qi found a dagger hidden in a gap in a pile of firewood. Zhang Da was momentarily blinded by the gleaming blade and hurried over to ask, "How did a dagger end up here?" He looked up along the pile of firewood and saw the hinged window of Lu Yan'er's bedroom. "Could it have been dropped by the murderer?!"
Yu Qi examined the dagger and finally found a mark on the wooden handle. He then handed the dagger to Yu Qi to keep. "It was when we were talking about Lao Han that it reminded me that if Lao Han wanted to kill someone, he should have carried a knife with him. So the murderer should have also been carrying a knife that night. It's just that he lost the murder weapon and had no choice but to use a handkerchief to strangle the person."
Zhang Da wiped the rain off his face and smiled, "Sir, you are truly amazing! I admire you to the core."
Yu Qi held up the umbrella and looked at him. After a long while, he finally managed a smile. "Now that the murder weapon has been found, send out the people in the yamen to investigate the origin of this dagger."
And what about you?
"I'll go see if I've found anything over there with the fish." The rain kept pouring down, and he walked alone with an umbrella toward the deserted alley. From the alley entrance, he could see the street, which was just as deserted.
The rain seemed unlikely to stop until nightfall, and the streets were much quieter than usual. After leaving the Shen family, Jiuli and the other two found a restaurant nearby for a meal. After finishing their meal, they ordered a pot of tea and two plates of melon seeds and snacks. Jiuli had eaten a little more today and felt uncomfortable sitting, so she held her teacup and stood by the window.
The restaurant had large, open windows. Standing up and blocking the view from the slanted window, she couldn't see much across the street, only that the street was full of puddles of all sizes, like little ponds. When she was little, she loved to lift her skirt and splash in these puddles. Her grandmother was afraid she would get sick from getting her shoes and socks wet, so she wouldn't allow her to. But she wouldn't listen, thinking to herself, "It's better if I get sick. Anyway, Yu Qi is a doctor. He's always out treating patients. He should make time to stay home and take care of me."
Xu Bai and Du Zhong were discussing Shen Zhi again. Du Zhong, cracking melon seeds, said, "I don't think it's necessary for Shen Zhi to kill someone even if he had a few words with Tang Chengguan. Besides, A'er made it clear that after they dispersed from the Lu family, he went home with Shen Zhi. Where would Shen Zhi have found the opportunity to kill someone?"
Jiuli, however, thought differently. She turned around and leaned her lower back against the window. "A'er is Shen Zhi's servant, so he naturally sides with Shen Zhi. Therefore, his words are not very credible."
“If that’s the case, then there’s no need for him to tell us about Shen Zhi’s argument with Tang Chengguan in the first place. These words are clearly very disadvantageous to Shen Zhi, and he wouldn’t be so oblivious to that.”
Jiuli glanced at him and said, "Perhaps Shen Zhi did go home at the time, but he got angrier and angrier as he thought about it, so he sent another servant to call Tang Chengguan to his house. Look at all the servants in the Shen family, not everyone knows what each of them does. Maybe A'er didn't even know about this."
Du Zhong was still unconvinced and threw a melon seed shell on the table. "Fine, let's just say Shen Zhi called Tang Chengguan to his home. You said it yourself, the Shen family has so many servants, at most a few of them could be beaten up and that would be enough to vent our anger. Why kill him?"
"Perhaps it was an accident? In the struggle, they accidentally pushed Tang Chengguan into that lotus pond! Did you see their lotus pond? There were some petal fragments under Tang Chengguan's fingernails!"
"Flower petals are everywhere, not just in the Shen family!"
This left Jiuli speechless, leaving her with no choice but to stare blankly.
Seeing that she looked like she was about to get angry, Xu Bai quickly smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, "In my opinion, you two both have a point. Let's not fight amongst ourselves over Shen Zhi."
Du Zhong couldn't help but sneer, "Seeing that you two are about to get engaged, of course you're speaking up for your fiancée."
Xu Bai actually liked his sarcastic remark, and didn't refute it, only smiling and saying, "I'm just stating the facts."
Turning his head, he saw that Jiu Li's face was slightly flushed, and she glared at Du Zhong even more fiercely. Xu Bai got up and walked to the window, took the empty cup from her hand, refilled it, and handed it back to her. He noticed that the butterfly hairpin in her hair was a little crooked. He looked around and saw that there was no one in the shop at this time. The shop assistant and the shopkeeper were dozing off behind the counter. Since no one could see him, he raised his hand and straightened the hairpin for her.
Because the window blocked their heads, looking in from across the street, all one could see was the two of them standing close together, appearing exceptionally intimate. Yu Qi held up his umbrella and watched for a while, thinking of the promise Jiu Li had made that night that she would keep her interactions with Xu Bai within bounds. But how could that be taken seriously? How could anyone truly control their own heart? They were often just saying one thing and meaning another, especially young women.
On the bright side, isn't it exactly what he's always hoped for that Jiuli could transfer her budding feelings to someone else? But he's increasingly aware that even if it really happens, he won't feel happy or relieved. Instead, he'll feel tense, as if he's afraid of losing her.
He stood motionless in the rain for a long time until the people in the shop came out and shouted, "Hey, don't stand in front of our door, you're blocking our business!"
He glanced back at the man, who immediately fell silent and shrank back as he went inside.
Feeling bored standing there, he turned around and left.
Just then, Jiuli turned to the window and saw a horse-drawn carriage coming from the street. She quickly called the person to stop, explained the situation, and the three of them went out to board the carriage and head home.
The carriage passed by the Qi residence first. Xu Bai jumped down, lifted the curtain, and invited the two of them inside. Du Zhong's leg injury was aching from the rain, so Jiu Li thought it best to go in and change his bandages, and also to find out more about him. Last time, she had come to a banquet, and had been a bit too formal and polite. Besides, at that time she didn't know that Xu Bai had ulterior motives towards her, so she hadn't paid any attention.
She and Du Zhong, holding umbrellas, followed Xu Bai into the mansion. They looked around as they went, saying, "Let's just sit anywhere. We won't go into the inner courtyard, so as not to disturb the two ladies unnecessarily."
"Many of them are empty rooms. Why don't you come to my little study and sit for a while? I'll ask them to bring some gauze and scissors."
Upon entering the small study, which was divided into inner and outer rooms, the outer room had a couch and chairs, but they were piled with books. Xu Bai led the two to sit behind the screen and then went out to fetch something. Jiu Li and Du Zhong sat by the window and saw two tall shelves across from them and behind the desk, also filled with books. In front of them was a large desk, with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones crammed together in a row, leaving a space in the middle where a scroll of painting was placed diagonally.
Du Zhong thought that there were no famous paintings or calligraphy hanging in this room, so Xu Bai probably didn't like them. But there was a scroll painting on the table. Could it be a rare ancient painting?
So he got up to look, and just then, the rhinoceros horn clasp on the scroll's binding wasn't fastened. He casually unfastened it, revealing a woman's head. The woman in the painting had flowing hair and misty tresses, and eyes like autumn water—a truly beautiful and ethereal woman. He tilted his head and looked at it for a moment, then immediately looked up at Jiu Li, "The person in this painting is you!"
"Me?" Jiuli sat up abruptly, tilting her head to look at him. They did look somewhat alike. "Is it me?"
He held up the scroll to her face and said, "It really is you! Only you never dress like this."
Jiuli took it and examined it closely. Du Zhong then said, "It's probably because Qi Xubai has been thinking about you day and night that he painted this picture. But I don't think he painted it very well. The eyebrows and eyes are similar, but the spirit is not the same. Look at the person in the painting, he looks much more serene and elegant than you."
She turned to look at him, then moved the painting in front of him again. "Do you think the person in this painting could be my mother?"
"Your mother? If you put it that way, it really does sound like a mother and daughter or sisters." Du Zhong tilted her eyes to examine it closely, then shook her head. "No, that's not true. How could Qi Xubai have a portrait of your mother?"
"That's hard to say," she muttered to herself, pointing to the year in the corner of the painting. "This painting is from twenty years ago, but the paper and ink are relatively new. It's probably a copy, and the person who copied it wrote down the year as well."
She hesitated for a moment, then rolled up the scroll and handed it to him, saying, "Put it away quickly, so no one finds it."
Twenty years ago? Du Zhong looked suspicious, immediately put the painting back in its place, walked back to the window and sat down with her, "Could it really be your mother?"
Jiuli quickly made a shushing gesture to her lips. Just as she lowered her hand, Xu Bai came in carrying scissors, gauze, and other items. He smiled nonchalantly and said, "Your family has its own sore ointment, so I didn't bring any medicine. I was afraid that using the wrong medicine might cause problems. Let's change the gauze first and apply the medicine when we get home."
The two agreed, and Jiuli squatted down to change Du Zhong's cloth. After sitting for a few more moments, she said she had to go home. Xu Bai hurriedly tried to persuade her to stay, "Why don't you wait until the rain stops?"
Jiuli turned to look out the window. "This rain probably won't stop until tonight. I think Uncle has probably already gone home. If we don't go back soon, our family will worry."
"It seems that the maid in Madam's room saw us when we came in. She must have gone to inform Madam. I'm afraid Madam is making arrangements to invite you to stay for dinner right now."
Speaking of his wife, Jiuli didn't like her very much. It was probably because this wife also came from a scholarly family, and her temperament didn't quite match that of a girl like Jiuli who grew up in the countryside. Although they got along well last time, he always felt awkward under her nose. His own mother, on the other hand, was much better. Being a concubine, she came from a lower social class and was therefore gentle, kind, and approachable.
She insisted on resigning, saying, "If I'm late, my uncle will scold me."
Xu Bai could only smile and nod, then got up to see the two of them to the door to get into the carriage. Just as the carriage left, he saw his elder brother Xu Yun returning in a sedan chair, so he stood still to wait.
Xu Yun walked with him towards the door, saying, "I just saw Miss Jiu Li and Du Zhong. Have they arrived home?"
“I was passing by their house, so I invited them in for a while.” Xu Bai said, chuckling to himself as he crossed his arms. “It seems Your Highness was right. Yu’er really is very likely Aunt Quan’s illegitimate daughter.”
Xu Yun turned his head slightly, "Really? How can you be so sure?"
"Just now, I invited them to the small study for tea, and I deliberately placed that painting on the table. Sure enough, they opened it and looked at it. I overheard them discussing it. It turns out that Yu'er really isn't of the Yu family bloodline. If she's not a daughter of the Yu family, then she's an adopted one. Do you remember that quack doctor who treated the late emperor back then? What a coincidence, Yu Qi is also a doctor. Perhaps there's some connection between them."
After listening, Xu Yun remained silent for a long time, then crossed his arms and sighed, "That's all in the past. Bringing it up again won't do you or the Prince any good. What's important right now is to find something to hold against Wang Shanfeng so that the Prince can have something to say when he returns to the capital."
Xu Bai sneered, "Brother, do you also think that you can bring down the Chen brothers by relying on Wang Shanfeng? Don't dream. The Chen brothers have been favored by the Emperor for so many years, and they already have many followers. A little Wang Shanfeng can't hurt them at all." "Even if she can't seriously hurt them, she can use Wang Shanfeng to test the Emperor's attitude towards the Chen brothers recently."
"Isn't the Emperor's attitude crystal clear? Over the years, how many people in the court have impeached the two Chens, and what have been their fates? Even now, do you still think that we can revive our Qi family with that faint hope?"
"Don't be so arrogant!" Xu Yun couldn't help but sternly rebuke.
Xu Bai was forced to remain silent.
After a while, Xu Yun calmed down and said, "Also, regardless of whether Miss Jiuli is Aunt Quan's orphan or a daughter of the Yu family, since you are discussing marriage with her, you should treat her with sincerity."
Xu Bai gradually smiled, "How do you know I'm not sincere, brother?"
Xu Yun looked at him and felt that he had become more and more thoughtful over the years, and even his older brother could not see through him. He could only nod, "That's good. Marriage is nothing to you, but for a girl, it is a major event in her life."
As they reached the fork in the road, Xu Yun went in the other direction. Xu Bai stood at a distance watching his back and felt that his elder brother was becoming more and more womanly as he grew older.
Meanwhile, Jiuli and Du Zhong rode in the Qi family's carriage home. Because the carriage had the Qi family's lanterns hanging on its front, Jiuli stopped the carriage some distance from the shop. Du Zhong knew she was afraid of being seen by Yu Qi, so he chuckled a few times and walked with her for a while, holding an umbrella over her.
As soon as he entered the shop, he saw Yu Qi and a patient come out from the inner room. Yu Qi took a prescription from the counter and gave it to A Xiang, giving him a few extra instructions. When he turned around and saw the two of them, his already unsmiling face instantly turned even colder. He didn't speak to Jiu Li, but only glanced at Du Zhong's leg and told him to go into the inner room to change his dressing.
Seeing Yu Qi's grim expression, Jiu Li didn't dare follow him inside. Instead, she leaned against the counter and asked Feng Qiao, "When did Uncle return?"
“He’s been back for a while now, and he’s already seen three or four patients.” Fengqiao leaned closer. “The master didn’t look too good when he came back, so keep an eye on him.”
"Why should I care? It's not like I provoked him." She casually picked up a rag to wipe the medicine residue off the counter, while glancing into the inner room.
Yu Qi was telling Du Zhong to lift up his trouser leg to look at the wound on his leg. He was worried that the wound would get wet from the rain outside, but when he glanced at it, he saw that the gauze on his leg had been changed. He immediately realized that it must have been changed at the Qi family's place. After returning from the Shen family, he was going to pass by the Qi residence.
So, with a straight face, she picked up her teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Du Zhong stared at his face for a moment, then realized, "Oh, when Xiaoyuer and I came back, we went to the Qi family for a while. Master, isn't it strange? In Qi Xubai's study, we saw a painting, and the woman in the painting looks just like Xiaoyuer!"
Yu Qi slowly put down his teacup. "Is that so? Is there a signature on the painting?"
"Yes, the painter's name is Chen Wei. Judging from the year inscribed on the painting, it was painted twenty years ago. However, Qi Xubai's portrait was copied later."
Sure enough, it wasn't a coincidence that I saw Prince Zhao Zhou Yu's guards at the Qi residence last time. Perhaps Zhou Yu's appearance at the Qi family that day was specifically to see Jiu Li.
As they were talking, Jiuli slowly walked to the bottom of the green gauze curtain, and Du Zhong stopped talking. Yu Qi instructed him, "Go back to your room and apply the medicine first."
As he left, Jiuli glared at him, thinking to herself that having the carriage stop in front was completely unnecessary. Why didn't this "spy" tell Yu Qi? He probably already told Yu Qi about going to the Qi family, otherwise Yu Qi's expression wouldn't be even more unpleasant than when she entered.
She stepped across the threshold, her face down. "It's because Du Zhong's wound got wet from the rain, and he said it hurt, so we went into the Qi residence to change the gauze first." As she spoke, she shook her hands. "We didn't sit for long. We came out as soon as we changed the gauze. We didn't even go to pay our respects to Madam Qi."
Yu Qi remained silent, but noticed a blue amber butterfly hairpin in her hair. He had never seen this hairpin before, and besides, her previous jewelry had been looted by Tang Chengguan. Where did this one come from?
Who would give her jewelry? Qi Xubai really knows how to seize any opportunity.
However, it was his oversight; he assumed she didn't usually wear jewelry, so he hadn't thought to make up for it. He hesitated for a moment, then stood up and walked towards the door, saying, "Come with me."
Before Jiuli could even sit down, another person, Liegu Diao, got up and followed him onto the street. Ahead was a jewelry shop; though small, it displayed a large selection of exquisite items. A set of tables and chairs stood in the front. The shopkeeper, a familiar face to the uncle and nephew, quickly invited them to sit and ordered tea. Yu Qi glanced around and then asked the shopkeeper to bring some hairpins, rings, and earrings to examine.
A moment later, the shopkeeper brought a wooden tray to the table, which was filled with a dazzling array of items. Jiuli picked up a hairpin and smiled, "You're going to buy me jewelry? I thought you were hoping to find my things again."
Yu Qi remained silent with a stern face. She held the hairpin up to his nose and dangled it twice, calling out as if begging for his soul, "Uncle, Uncle, Uncle—"
Yu Qi glanced at her, and she immediately looked up at him with a fawning smile.
Seeing that the two seemed to have calmed down a bit, the shopkeeper stepped forward and asked, "Is the young lady getting married? Are you preparing her dowry?"
Jiuli deliberately shook her head and said, "If I don't get married, who will take care of my uncle in his old age?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Look at this girl, how filial she is! She'd rather stay married than leave her home than not stay with her uncle."
Jiuli smiled and nodded, intentionally saying to Yu Qi, "Of course, I'm going to stay with my uncle for the rest of my life."
Finally, Yu Qi was able to show a slight smile. He glanced at her from the rim of the teacup, then immediately straightened his voice and said, "Hurry up and pick them out. Once you're done, go home for dinner."
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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