Chapter 17. The Baili Xun boat capsized for the third time today...
When Feng Mian arrived at the prefectural governor's mansion, he found the gate tightly closed, with Shan Yi standing guard at the door with his arms crossed. From inside the gate came Chu Jingqi's pig-like screams.
Oh no, oh no, Baili Xunzhou wouldn't kill Chu Jingqi just for military expenses and supplies, would he?
She was eager to rush in, but Shanyi stopped her when she got off the carriage.
Shan Yi: "Your Highness, the Heir Apparent has important matters to discuss with the Young Marquis and has instructed that no one should disturb them. Would you like to come back later?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Chu Jingqi's screams of agony echoed from inside.
This "important matter" is probably not something "life-threatening."
But a man in a scabbard blocked her path, and she couldn't force her way through. The prince's personal guards were also veterans of countless battles; taking down the guards behind her would be a piece of cake.
Feng Mian nodded with a smile, withdrew her step forward, and said seemingly in agreement, "Is that so? Then I'll go back to the palace and wait for Your Highness."
As she spoke, she turned around as if to leave, and winked at Liuying and Wuliu behind her.
The two had been by Feng Mian's side since childhood, and they understood each other with just a glance. In an instant, they grabbed Shan Yi's arms on either side and pulled him towards the corner. At the same time, Feng Mian turned and rushed towards the gate.
Shan Yi was dumbfounded: "Hey, hey, hey, let go of me! Princess, you really can't come in!"
If those two guards had grabbed him like that, he would have easily thrown them to the ground. But the people holding him were the princess's delicate maids, especially the round-faced, round-eyed girl on his left, who looked two years younger than him. If she fell, she'd be crying for months...
Just as Shan Yi was being dragged away, struggling and hesitating about whether to harm the woman and child, Feng Mian forcefully pushed open the tightly closed mansion gate and rushed inside.
Upon entering the corridor, Chu Jingqi, looking as if he had just escaped a disaster, was rushing towards the gate.
"Jing..." She had barely uttered a word when she saw a flash of cold light, and a long spear came flying from Chu Jingqi's side, its cold light as sharp as lightning, heading straight for her!
In the blink of an eye, Chu Jingqi in front of her seemed to have been kicked hard by someone, and he flew towards her.
"Bang!"
The two crashed heavily to the ground, seeing stars.
The spear tip hovered three inches above their heads, vibrating and humming. Looking up again, Baili Xunzhou gripped the spear tightly in one hand. His pupils, which had been constricted, relaxed only when he saw that the two were safe and sound. His taut body suddenly relaxed, and his rapid breathing slowly subsided with his tense shoulders, turning into a soft sigh.
Baili Xunzhou put away his spear, grabbed Chu Jingqi by the back of the neck with one hand and pulled him up. Just as he was about to help Feng Mian up, Chu Jingqi let out a howl and pounced on him, struggling to half-lift and half-carry Feng Mian.
"Little cousin! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? What about your head? Let me check if your head is swollen!"
Chu Jingqi examined Feng Mian from head to toe, turning her head over and feeling the back of her head for any bumps.
He was terrified that if he hurt himself, his uncle would tear him apart.
Feng Mian was still dazed when she fell solidly onto the blue brick floor. After the initial numbness wore off, a fine, dense pain began to spread.
Chu Jingqi was clumsy; he pressed a finger on her shoulder where she had just bumped it, causing her to hiss in pain. She raised her hand to push him away, but the other person was faster and pulled Chu Jingqi away.
Baili Xunzhou couldn't help but roll her eyes at Chu Jingqi, and said impatiently, "Stop poking me like that, you're making things worse."
Chu Jingqi then noticed Feng Mian's deathly pale face, and in fright, he raised his hands high, stammering, "I was just worried about my little cousin... Little cousin, how are you?"
Feng Mian gasped for breath and waved his hand, "Let me catch my breath, let me catch my breath..."
As she spoke, everything suddenly went black, and she staggered a couple of times. Baili Xunzhou instinctively reached out to support her.
There was another rustling sound outside the door. Shanyi, Liuying, and Wuliu pushed and pulled each other and stumbled into the room.
Shan Yi was utterly helpless: "The princess has already gone in, why are you still stopping me? Let go, let go."
"The princess hasn't spoken... The princess?!" Liu Ying was halfway through her sentence when she caught sight of Feng Mian's swaying figure. She no longer cared about Shan Yi and rushed to Feng Mian's left and right with Wu Liu to support her.
Wu Liu: "Princess, are you alright?"
Feng Mian calmed down and, feeling that she was alright, waved her hand. "It's nothing, I just suddenly felt dizzy. I fell and it hurt a bit, I probably hit the back of my head."
"What did you do to the princess!" Liu Ying glared angrily at the only two suspects present.
Chu Jingqi said, looking aggrieved, "I...I really didn't mean to..."
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something and pointed sharply at Baili Xunzhou: "He, it was him who kicked me that caused me to fall!"
He had a complaining look on his face that said, "It's all his fault, it has nothing to do with me."
Baili Xunzhou withdrew his empty hand, awkwardly opening his mouth, unable to refute the argument. He was the one who threw the spear, and he was the one who kicked the man. Although he threw the spear only to pin Chu Jingqi's sleeve down, and kicked Chu Jingqi to save Feng Mian, in the end, it all seemed to be his fault...
He cleared his throat, his voice unusually weak: "Don't stand there, help the princess inside to talk. Shanyi, go and fetch the physician."
"Yes!" Shan Yi replied and then slipped away in the blink of an eye.
Liu Ying stared intently at Baili Xunzhou, and together with Wu Liu, helped Feng Mian into the courtyard. "Princess, please walk slowly."
Just as Chu Jingqi was about to slip away unnoticed, a long spear suddenly appeared in front of him.
Baili Xunzhou: "The imperial physician hasn't even taken the princess's pulse yet. As one of the culprits, it wouldn't be right for the young marquis to just leave like this, would it?"
"I..." Chu Jingqi pointed to himself in disbelief, speechless for a long time. He didn't dare to really leave Feng Mian here and run away, so he could only slink back and follow her into the house.
My poor little cousin, how did she end up with such a monstrous husband...?
Fortunately, the physician examined Feng Mian and said there was nothing seriously wrong with her. He only prescribed some medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis for her to apply daily.
Chu Jingqi, who had been restless, and Baili Xunzhou, who had been pretending to be calm, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The initial pain had subsided, and Feng Mian sat upright in the rosewood chair, her back straight, to avoid accidentally bumping into the chair back and experiencing pain again.
She glanced at Baili Xunzhou, who was sitting imposingly on her left, and then at Chu Jingqi, who was sitting cross-legged on her right, and asked, "Tell me, what exactly was going on just now?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Jingqi perked up immediately, sat up straight, slapped his thigh, and complained, "Little cousin, you have to stand up for your Ninth Brother! As soon as I got back today, I saw this guy like a bandit, carrying a gun and waiting in our yard. He started chasing me and wouldn't leave me alone. What did I do to offend him?"
Baili Xunzhou snorted coldly and spoke under Feng Mian's questioning gaze: "Why did you run away when you saw me? If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear."
"With that murderous look of yours, even ghosts would run away!"
"Tsk. If you wanted to kill me, would I, the young master, need to do it myself?"
"So, what exactly is the purpose of Your Highness's visit?" Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Feng Mian interrupted their bickering, "Even if you need to collect military funds and provisions, there's no need to bring a gun to our door, is there?"
“That’s right, that’s right. Just a few days ago he was calling me ‘Young Marquis’ so affectionately, and he’d give me anything I wanted. But now that the escort officer is only a few days late, you treat me like this.” Chu Jingqi nodded in agreement, then covered his mouth with his hand and earnestly advised, “Little cousin, you must be very careful when you marry him in the future. A man’s heart can change so quickly!”
They seemed to be whispering, but everyone present could hear them clearly.
Baili Xunzhou's hand reached for the spear again. Chu Jingqi caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, shuddered, and silently sat up straight, covering his mouth.
"A few days late? Young Marquis, you really have the nerve to say that." Baili Xunzhou's eyebrows furrowed slightly, his sharp gaze fixed on Chu Jingqi like an arrow. "Those cartloads of grain were all burned!"
"It was burned?!" Chu Jingqi jumped to his feet. "That's impossible!"
Feng Mian also looked at Baili Xunzhou in shock. Who dared to burn grain and fodder?
"It's right outside the city, at Shili Pavilion. My father and I have already been to the site and it's confirmed. Moreover, the night before the fire, someone saw the young marquis acting suspiciously nearby. My father went to question all the relevant officials and specifically sent me to ask the young marquis what he was doing."
"You suspect me?" Chu Jingqi jumped up and down in a panic. "Why would I burn grain and fodder if I had nothing better to do!"
Feng Mian frowned slightly. Such a big thing had happened, and the Crown Prince and the Prince of Dingbei had not returned to the manor all night, yet she knew nothing about it.
However, she had only been in the northern frontier for a few days and had not yet had time to spread her intelligence network, so she could only proceed slowly.
“If Ninth Brother dares to burn the grain and fodder, regardless of the law, even Uncle Qin Wang will beat him half to death first. There must be some misunderstanding.” Feng Mian spoke up for Chu Jingqi.
Chu Jingqi nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, "My little cousin is so sensible!"
Baili Xunzhou glanced at him up and down, his eyes filled with disdain. "I doubt the young marquis has the guts, but since someone witnessed it, an explanation is needed. We also need to ask the young marquis what he was doing that night? Did he see anything unusual?"
Chu Jingqi stammered and refused to answer, which made Feng Mian anxious: "At this point, Ninth Brother, what secrets do you still have to hide? If you don't tell us, the Prince will take you to see your uncle!"
This rhetoric is no different from using the King of Hell to scare children. Baili Xunzhou glanced at Feng Mian with displeasure, but obediently gripped his spear. "Shanyi, take the men..."
"Hey, I'll tell you, but you all have to keep this a secret and don't let my mother know." Chu Jingqi scratched his head and chuckled. "I met a girl a while ago. She was very shy and afraid of running into acquaintances in the city during the day, so she asked me to meet her at the Ten Mile Pavilion outside the city at night."
Sealing Sleep: ...
Baili Xunzhou: ...
Baili Xunzhou turned his head to look at Feng Mian in disbelief, tapped his forehead with his index finger, and asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with his head?"
Chu Jingqi retorted, "Hey, I can hear you! Are you trying to say that girl is a fraud? That she's actually a foreign spy? Let me tell you, absolutely not! I've seen countless people, and I've never made a mistake when it comes to judging character..."
Unable to bear it any longer, Baili Xunzhou silently picked up his spear once more. Feng Mian spoke up first, "Alright, alright, we naturally know our cousin's abilities. But just to be on the safe side, we still need to investigate a bit. It's absolutely not meant to question you. Look, even you, a dignified young marquis, have been interrogated by the heir apparent. You should at least ask that young lady a couple of questions, shouldn't you?"
"Don't worry, as long as you tell us the woman's name and address, we will keep this a secret. Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know, Your Highness..." Feng Mian turned around and saw Shan Yi, Liu Ying, and Wu Liu standing behind him. He paused for a moment before continuing, "We know, and we will absolutely not let your secret meeting with a respectable woman be spread."
"Alright then. Although her family background is not as good as the ones my mother has chosen, I intend to marry her properly and not just for a fleeting infatuation. You must not ruin the girl's reputation."
Bai Lixun rolled his eyes for the third time today.
Feng Mian felt both amused and heartbroken. Although her silly cousin was all talk and no action, his thoughtfulness towards young women surpassed that of most men.
It's just a pity that I probably gave my heart to the wrong person.
A note from the author:
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