Chapter 12 Is this king very old?
Beneath the girl's bright and dazzling expression lay a hint of excitement; her blinking eyes sparkled with a unique light, beckoning one to investigate further.
Fu Huaiqing's eyes darkened.
He stepped forward, took the scallion she was playing with, and silently looked at her with his eyes closed.
In that instant, Biezhi's heart skipped a beat.
She gazed at the ripples deep within Ji Ran's eyes, the gentle waves rippling beneath the calm lake, carried by a refreshing breeze.
Bie Zhi slowly looked away and happened to see her senior brother who had already reached the door. She said, "Why didn't you wait for me outside, senior brother?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing stared at her for a moment before belatedly following her gaze to look at the man standing outside the door.
"I had nothing better to do, so I came over to check on things." Jing Qing's pupils darted around, his gaze quickly sweeping over the two of them. He paused, then asked, "Are you done?"
Biezhi: "Hmm?"
Jing Qing glanced at Ji Ran and asked, "Did you tell him you were going out?"
“I already said that.” Biezhi looked at the man beside her with a sudden realization; she had almost forgotten why she had come today.
Jing Qing nodded: "It's getting late, I'll take you home."
Fu Huaiqing, who was standing to one side pretending to be 'deaf', looked at him thoughtfully, a hint of coldness in his raised lips. He glanced at Biezhi, ignored them, and turned back to clean up the crushed scallions on the table.
He seemed oblivious to everything happening outside, but in reality, his mind was entirely focused on the two of them.
Bie Zhi hesitated, glancing out of the corner of her eye at Ji Ran, who was focused on his work, and then at her senior brother, whose expression seemed to carry a hint of unease. Actually, she wasn't in a hurry to go back to the courtyard, and there was nothing else to do there. However, since her senior brother had come with her, she couldn't very well ask him to stay any longer.
She raised her hand and poked Ji Ran's arm.
After Ji Ran looked over, she gestured to leave, "I'm going now."
The moment Biezhi took a step, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Her first reaction was to fight back, but when she met Ji Ran's clear and bright eyes out of the corner of her eye, she relaxed and looked at him in confusion.
Fu Huaiqing lowered his eyelids slightly, took a handkerchief from the table, and wiped the tender green buds on the other finger joints bit by bit.
The man's slightly calloused fingertips gently brushed across the handkerchief, creating a sensation akin to scratching an itch through a boot, like someone lightly brushing a feather across the tip of one's heart. Biezhi stared at him, slightly lost in thought, her lips moving slightly, unable to utter a word for a long while.
Even though it was just a tiny bud, he wiped it back and forth for a long time, so long that Jing Qing couldn't bear to watch anymore. After standing at the door for a long time, he bent down and stepped into the storage room.
The three people who suddenly burst into the cramped storage room caused their breathing to drop a little.
Fu Huaiqing casually lifted his eyelids to look at the person who had come in. He caught a glimpse of the coldness in the person's expression, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He then slowly put the handkerchief away.
Biezhi also noticed the displeasure surrounding her senior brother. She frowned slightly and looked over, clearly feeling that after returning to the capital from this mission, his aura seemed to be much stronger than usual, and occasionally he even carried a bit of inexplicable hostility.
"Senior brother, let's go." She thought for a moment, stopped walking forward, turned around to look at Ji Ran who was standing there, and smiled sweetly: "I will come over when I have time."
After saying that, Biezhi waved her hand slightly and left without looking back.
Fu Huaiqing stared intently at the departing figures of the two, his indifferent expression growing increasingly cold. He said coldly, "Find him something to do."
It's so annoying to look at; out of sight, out of mind.
Jiang Yue and Cheng Jin, who had quietly approached, exchanged a glance. Cheng Jin immediately understood and left to carry out the order.
Seeing that the prince had no intention of leaving, Jiang Yue knew that he probably had other plans, so he stood silently behind him, waiting for his orders.
As he waited, he suddenly heard a man's clear, crisp voice.
"Am I that old?"
If the voice hadn't sounded strangely familiar, Jiang Yue would have thought he was hallucinating. He raised his eyelids and glanced at the prince's slightly stern expression, as if he were asking about this matter very seriously.
Jiang Yue fell silent for a rare moment.
The prince is now twenty-five years old, which is already quite a lot for an ordinary family. Not to mention the son of the Minister of Revenue, who is also twenty-five years old, he has five concubines alone, not to mention the maids who share his room.
If we must talk about someone close to the prince, the two officials who are on good terms with him are Su Ci, who is the same age as the prince. He is devoted to his official duties. Not only is the Su family urging him to get married, but because he once served as a reader in the Hanlin Academy and accompanied the young emperor for a period of time, even the young emperor would ask him why he is not yet married.
Lord Qin Xiao is two years younger, but even he's blossomed like a rare tree now...
Thinking of this, Jiang Yue sighed slightly and said, "According to the prince's age, he is certainly not old, but—" He hesitated for a moment and looked at his master.
Fu Huaiqing: "Just say it."
“But you are still unmarried, and there are indeed rumors that you cannot…” Jiang Yue observed the prince’s expression and carefully changed his words: “It is said that you are not in good health, and that otherwise you would not have left Miss Qin unmarried. I suppose you are afraid of wronging her.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Huaiqing's face darkened.
Jiang Yue thought it made perfect sense.
Rumors circulated that the manager of Xianyun Tower was impotent, while others claimed that Prince Su was unwell. Coincidentally, both rumors concerned the prince himself.
Fu Huaiqing's voice was cold: "And what else?"
Jiang Yue hesitated for a moment, then coughed and covered his mouth: "Nothing else, but yesterday the Emperor summoned me. I saw that there were many portraits of court officials and noble ladies in front of the Emperor, and he kept asking which girl would be suitable to be your wife."
Fu Huaiqing glanced at him and said, "Are you all very free?"
Jiang Yue was stunned.
To be honest, he did have some free time after returning to the capital, but he naturally couldn't say that to his master, so he quickly shook his head.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Fu Huaiqing rubbed his slightly furrowed brow, wondering why he was worrying about such a trivial matter. He asked, "How are the arrangements for her identity going?"
“It has already been arranged,” Jiang Yue said. “It is the Minister of Personnel, Qin Peibai, and his daughter, Qin Biezhi.”
Suddenly, Fu Huaiqing's eyes changed slightly.
Jiang Yue, realizing something was amiss, was completely baffled, not understanding what was wrong. Choosing the Qin family was his master's decision.
He thought for a moment and then told her everything he had found out: "Seventeen years ago, Madam Qin happened to be away from the capital and had an accidental induced labor. However, she was too far along and left only half a day after giving birth. In order to avoid attracting attention, only Lord Qin and Madam Qin knew about it. Now, the public says that she is looking for her lost daughter, which is plausible."
Fu Huaiqing, of course, knew this, and asked, "Does Qin Xiao know the inside story?"
Jiang Yue shook his head: "Only Lord Qin and Madam Qin know about this in the Qin family."
"Then don't let him know," Fu Huaiqing said casually.
Jiang Yue instantly understood the prince's meaning: that Lord Qin should believe that Biezhi was his own sister. He bowed and accepted the order.
"The youngest daughter of Qin Peibai, the Minister of Personnel!?" Biezhi, who had returned to the courtyard, received the booklet from Qingshan. She stared at the words in the booklet in disbelief, looked at Qingshan opposite her, and then at the booklet in her hand. She began to doubt whether she could read, and read it again.
“It’s the same no matter how many times I look at it.” Qingshan noticed her astonishment and couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Is this kind of identity even acceptable?" Bie Zhi asked suspiciously. She wouldn't be surprised if she were given the identity of a wealthy merchant's daughter, but this was the Minister of Personnel, not just any ordinary official. "Did they get some kind of leverage over them in the building?"
"The other day, Madam Qin was very satisfied with your escorting Qin Xiao out of the capital. After our detailed discussion, we decided that the tavern would not accept the eight hundred taels." Qing Shan added before Bie Zhi's gaze could pierce her: "Of course, the tavern will still give you your share."
Upon hearing this, Biezhi felt relieved.
As long as you don't deduct her money, that's fine.
Qingshan took a sip of tea and calmly analyzed the situation for her: "Moreover, the fact that Xu Wenche is worth tens of thousands of taels this time is not entirely due to his family. There are also people in the court who have secretly come to us to do this business, but you must remember that we have no way of knowing what they are planning to do, and we cannot interfere."
"All you have to do is protect Xu Wenche." He put down his teacup, looked at Biezhi whose expression was slowly returning to calm, and said in a deep voice, "If necessary, I will not hesitate to exchange my life for his."
Biezhi understood what he meant and nodded slowly.
She would trade her life for Xu Wenche's.
Biezhi had always understood this, and not only with Xu Wenche, but also in the same way when escorting her out of the capital several times.
They were doing jobs that involved risking their lives.
Qingshan looked at her for a while and asked, "Is there anything else you want to know?"
Biezhi shook her head. "Knowing too much isn't a good thing for me."
All she had to do was protect Xu Wenche; no matter who came, it wouldn't make a difference.
Upon hearing this, Qing Shan smiled.
What he liked most about Biezhi was this: she never asked questions she shouldn't have, treating herself as just a dummy carrying out a mission.
Qingshan stood up and said, "Three days later, the Qin family will send someone to Huishui Town to pick you up and bring you back to the capital."
Biezhi nodded, calculating her journey in her mind. She was leaving the capital tonight to head to Huishui Town, where she would familiarize herself with the situation. "I'll set off from the capital in a bit."
"There's no need to rush." Qing Shan turned around, glanced at the black hair under her eyes, and said, "Your master gave you a new pill, the effect will last for about half a day. You can rest well before you rush over."
"Actually, it's not a big deal." Biezhi knew their good intentions, but after not having rested well for so long, these two days of rest in the capital were enough for her. If she rested any longer, her body would fall apart. However, she wouldn't refuse their kindness. "Then I'll set off again tomorrow afternoon."
Qingshan hummed in agreement and turned around: "I'm leaving, no need to see me off."
Biezhi stood up and watched him leave.
The man had just stepped across the threshold when he suddenly stopped. She looked at him suspiciously: "Is there anything else?"
“I will inform you of the person who will be meeting you for this mission three days in advance. No one other than the person arranged to meet you in the building is allowed to approach this mission.” Qing Shan turned to the side, his gaze seemingly sweeping over the other courtyards in the manor, and reiterated, “If anyone breaks this rule, they will be dealt with according to the strictest rules of the sect.”
Biezhi's eyelashes trembled slightly. It was the first time she had heard of such a severe punishment, and her caution deepened. She said, "I will be careful."
"Hmm." Qing Shan nodded, then remembered something else. "The master has agreed to your going to the building to buy information today. This task will be assigned to the appropriate person, and they will deliver the information to you in a few days."
Hearing this, Biezhi breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they agreed with this point. She hesitated for a moment and asked, "How much silver do you want?"
Qingshan held up his hand and made a five.
Upon seeing this, Biezhi gasped.
Shady businessman!
Unparalleled shrewd businessman!
Qing Shan couldn't help but chuckle and reassured him, "Now that you've completed the mission, you're considered quite wealthy. Five hundred taels is nothing to you."
Biezhi pouted, almost counting on her fingers: "We haven't even reached ten thousand taels yet, and we already owe five hundred."
She should have known better than to buy that information; who knew she'd run into such a ruthless and unscrupulous businessman!
She knew that older men were not to be trifled with, and once the contract was over, she would definitely run far away and keep her distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
