Chapter 25: Farewell
A relieved smile appeared on his face. He nodded silently at Qiandeng and prepared to leave with the rabbit in his arms.
"Mr. Meng, please wait a moment." Qian Deng stopped him, stood up, walked across the courtyard and came to him.
Turning his head to glance at Ling Tianshui, who was accompanying Meng Lanxi to the door, Qian Deng said, "I'm going to the kitchen to check on the fire situation later. I remember seeing a few broken medicine jars in the kitchen yesterday. Among all the young men in the backyard, only Young Master Meng is proficient in medicine. So, I would like you to come with me to check what medicine was boiled in the furnace at that time."
"Okay." Meng Lanxi agreed. Seeing that her face was a little pale, but she no longer had the pain and confusion of yesterday, she couldn't help but feel pity and sadness in her heart.
He retreated to the door, quietly waiting for the county lady to change clothes. However, a feeling of regret surged in his throat, and he murmured unconsciously, "If only I could share some of the burden for the county lady..."
Ling Tianshui only curled his lips when he heard his words. He looked indifferently at Qian Deng, who was packing up her things in the inner hall, and said, "No one can share her burden. The fate that weighs on her is something she has no choice but to endure on her own."
Meng Lanxi remained silent. Qiandeng, however, had already gathered his cloak and was walking towards them, paper and pen in hand.
"Let's go." Her voice was slightly hoarse, but she stepped out of the door without hesitation. Fate weighed heavily on her shoulders, but her thin back remained straight.
Even though she knew that what she was going to face was the place where she watched Shi Jingning being burned to a charred corpse, she had prepared herself mentally and was no longer afraid.
After the kitchen fire yesterday, we have been unable to cook two meals in the mansion, and today's breakfast was bought from the street.
With so many people in the mansion, food is a top priority. Furthermore, the madam's funeral is coming up in a few days, and there will be many mourners. Without a kitchen in the mansion, we won't even be able to serve tea, butter, and cheese to the guests. What will we do then?
Aunt Xuanji discussed with the chief historian of the mansion overnight and rented the vacant courtyard of the neighboring house and borrowed the kitchen to get through this period.
Therefore, when Qiandeng passed, the workers were already clearing the kitchen ruins and preparing to carry the wood over.
The Jin family, the richest family in Chang'an, is wealthy and naturally has no shortage of manpower. They did not abandon the warehouse and recruited a team of people from the kitchen. They planned to first build the kitchen frame with wood and temporarily make a roof with boards to get through the busy period.
Seeing Qiandeng coming over, Aunt Yingluo told Qiandeng about the plan for the temporary kitchen, and then reported to Qiandeng worriedly that the set of Nine Golden Flowers given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still not found. Now the warehouse has been turned upside down, but still nothing has been found. It seems that it was not stored in time with the other imperial gifts that day and was robbed by the rebel army.
Qian Deng could only comfort Aunt Ying Luo: "When I have the chance, I'll talk to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince about this matter. After all, losing the imperial gift is a serious matter, but with all the chaos and war going on right now, how can anyone guarantee that it will be completely safe?"
"That's all we can do." Aunt Yingluo sighed and pointed at Jin Tang's back, saying, "Young Master Jin has truly dedicated himself to the palace. The county lady should be grateful to him."
Qiandeng nodded and walked towards the ruins of the kitchen where Jintang was.
When he reached the broken wall, he realized he was not alone.
In the charred ruins, Yan Penglai, dressed in white, was standing at the place where Shi Jingning died and chanting the mantra for rebirth. His expression was calm and peaceful, and he did not show much sadness.
Shangluo was wiping his tears and squatting in the ruins, burning paper.
Qiandeng couldn't help but think of that day in Yongyangfang, when Shangluo also wiped away tears and burned paper for Yu Guangling. At this moment, it seemed like just yesterday.
Jin Tang came over and casually helped Shangluo burn a few pieces of paper money, then raised his hand and patted his little head: "That's enough, Shi Jingning will be grateful to you in the underworld, and maybe even bless you to become a child prodigy."
Shangluo sobbed, "Last time, last time, Brother Guangling also left us so suddenly. Brother Jin, do you think... Brother Jingning was also harmed this time?"
"Maybe, who knows - anyway, if a bad guy does it, the county lady will definitely find the murderer and help Shi Jingning get revenge."
"Wow...Brother Jingning is so kind and always treats people well. Why would the bad guys want to attack him?"
"Tsk, little brat, are you stupid?" Jin Tang rolled his eyes at him. "Dead is better. What good is living for us?"
Shangluo looked at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.
"After all, anyone who competes with me for the position of county lord isn't a good person." Jin Tang casually tossed paper money aside and said meaningfully, "Now I just hope that Shi Jingning's death wasn't an accident. When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Every fewer opponent is a better one, don't you think?"
Shang Luo was stunned, forgetting even to cry. He murmured, "Brother Jin, do you think... the one who killed Brother Jingning was... the candidate who was with us?"
"How should I know? Didn't the people from the Dali Temple come to investigate and say it was an accident?"
"Then... if it wasn't an accident, the person who killed Brother Jingning must be that Yang Huaijiang!"
"I think it's best if it's not him." Jin Tang brushed off the paper ash that had drifted onto him. "Think about it, the county lady clearly hates him. Even if he forced his way into the backyard, what chance would he have of surviving? But if it's anyone else—wouldn't that mean I'd have one less opponent?"
Shang Luo's face was pale. Before he could say anything, he heard a sneer from the side. Then Ling Tianshui's cold and heavy voice came over: "Jin Langjun, yesterday we shared the winter solstice wontons made by Shi Jingning (Note: wontons were eaten on the winter solstice and New Year's Eve in the Tang Dynasty). I think you ate a lot of them, didn't you?"
"Just eat it. Do you think he made it for us? It was just to please the county lady..." Jin Tang said this, and when he turned around and saw Qian Deng standing next to him, his face changed slightly, and the rest of the words got stuck in his throat.
Qiandeng didn't look at him. Her eyes swept over him and fixed on the traces of Shi Jingning's body still on the broken wall, without moving for a long time.
Jin Tang was in a panic. He had been busy running around for the palace recently and had originally hoped to please the county lord, but now, he was afraid that all his hopes would be in vain because of his words.
He wanted to explain, but he didn't know what to say.
Qian Deng turned around and asked Yan Penglai, "During the fire yesterday, all the other young masters came to help, but only Young Master Yan didn't show up?"
"Yesterday, while I was putting out a fire in the front yard, I vaguely heard a noise and wanted to go check it out, but after a divination, I found that the lower part was Gen and the upper part was Qian, which is the Dun hexagram." Yan Penglai said calmly, "The noble man is gradually fading, and the villain is gaining strength. It's beyond my power to stop him, so I gave up the idea and continued to practice in the backyard."
Qian Deng knew that Yan Penglai, the Grand Secretary of the Astronomy Department, was a man of deep concentration, unconcerned with worldly matters. Furthermore, he was known for his mysophobia, averse to dust and dirt. It would have been a miracle if he had ignored the ashes and rushed to put out the fire.
Seeing Qian Deng silent, Yan Penglai continued, "I see that this young man has a pale bone structure and a weak destiny. He is destined to die young in this life. I hope the county lady will not be too sad and regretful. It is all destined. He will surely live a long and happy life in his next life."
This young man, who is rare in this world, has a handsome face, but speaks so coldly. He is really like a lotus in a pond, pure and emotionless.
Qiandeng nodded silently without saying anything.
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