Chapter 25 That's really insidious.
In the stillness of the moonlit night, Zhou Qi carried a lantern, hiding his figure in the shadows of the porch. His gaze was lowered to the threshold, and his right fingertips rubbed the lamppost in circles.
Hearing the sound of the bolt being pulled, he immediately perked up, straightened his slightly hunched back, and stared intently into the room.
Wu Qiuniang opened the door, with Yu Mingshu beside her.
Upon seeing the person at the door, Wu Qiuniang looked him up and down cautiously and asked, "Zhou Qi? It's already curfew time. Is there something you need?"
Zhou Qi said anxiously, "I didn't mean to disturb Aunt and Miss Yu's rest. I just came back from the clinic and found out that my little sister had run away again in a huff... I was really worried that she would spend the night alone outside, so I came to ask Aunt if she had seen my Fuling today?"
How could a brother who truly cares about his sister tell outsiders that she had run away alone and might not come home at night?
Wu Qiuniang changed her usual gentle tone and said with a stern face, "Everyone in the neighborhood knows that I have never liked going out."
The implication is that he has never met Zhou Fuling.
Zhou Qi's eyes betrayed her disappointment, yet she still glanced at the courtyard with a lingering sense of despair.
Yu Mingshu stepped forward and said gently, "This isn't the first time Miss Fuling has run away from home. I heard from Aunt Wang that Brother Zhou found her at his maternal grandparents' house last time, right?"
Zhou Qi said with a sigh, "Yes, that's why. My little sister can't go to her maternal grandparents' house this time. She must have gone somewhere else."
Yu Mingshu continued, "If it were me having a fight with my family, I certainly wouldn't dare to hide in an unfamiliar place. Brother Zhou, do you have any relatives? Or, does Miss Fuling have any trustworthy friends in the capital?"
Zhou Qi frowned.
The problem is that the Zhou family has no other relatives in Chang'an, and Zhou Fuling has never made any friends since she was a child.
Where can she go?
Wu Qiuniang glanced at the street and urged, "Aqi, the night patrol guards will be here soon. You should go back quickly. We can talk about anything else at dawn. If you really can't find anyone, then report it to the authorities."
Since they had clearly given him the order to leave, Zhou Qi felt embarrassed to stand in front of the Yu family's door. He said "Excuse me" and turned to leave.
Yu Mingshu glanced in the direction he left, shook her head helplessly, and locked the door.
The mother and daughter returned to the backyard, and Zhou Fuling immediately stood up and asked worriedly, "Has my brother left? Did he suspect anything?"
Yu Mingshu said, "Let's go, to the next place."
Yu Dan suddenly exclaimed "Huh?", drawing everyone's attention.
He scratched his head and said, "The Great Liang Code clearly stipulates that there is a curfew throughout Chang'an City at night, and anyone who goes out at night without a valid reason will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane. Brother Zhou, you still dare to go to other people's houses to look for someone at this time. Are you really not afraid of getting beaten up?"
“He must find me tonight,” Zhou Fuling said.
"Why?" Yu Dan was still confused.
Yu Mingshu was also puzzled. Why was Yu Dan's mind sometimes sharp and sometimes not?
He can recite legal provisions by heart, yet he can't understand such simple principles.
She couldn't bear to expose Zhou Changchun and his son Zhou Qi's thoughts in front of Zhou Fuling. Little did she know, the young girl was as clear-headed as a mirror and understood things better than anyone else.
“They took me back to force me to marry into the Liu family. If I spend the night alone outside and something happens to me, ruining my reputation, will the Liu family still want me?”
Wu Qiuniang sighed, her gaze towards Zhou Fuling filled with even more affection. She then turned and instructed Qingque and Luoyan to tidy up the unused side rooms in Yu Mingshu's courtyard.
"You can stay at home for now. If you need anything, just tell your aunt."
With an outsider in the house, Yu Mingshu, out of caution, did not mention a word about his alias, Yu Erlang, studying at the academy.
As for whether Zhou Fuling will guess something when she sees her dressed as a man, leaving early and returning late... let's just leave it to fate. Fortunately, this girl is introverted and not one to gossip.
The first day after the ten-day break was also the third day after the incident of Xie Wulang playing with the ground beetle.
The students of the academy all loved watching the excitement, and they lingered around Zhang Jun early in the morning, glancing sideways at the empty seat next to him.
They were there to watch the spectacle, yet also feared the Xie family's lingering power; they simply watched, none daring to raise an object of discussion. After eagerly anticipating the morning's events, they finally received the news that Xie Ansheng had taken the day off.
It was clear that everyone was somewhat disappointed.
Xie Ansheng's leave of absence also had its advantages; with him gone, people could speak more freely without restraint.
During break, a group of people swarmed around He Zheng's desk, pestering him with questions: "He Erlang, you're still the best at chess! How could anyone in this world make Xie Wulang suffer such a great loss! It has to be you!"
"He Erlang, tell me quickly, how exactly did you manage to switch the copper coin with a worm?"
"He Erlang, I have offended you in the past. Please forgive my rudeness and don't try to use these underhanded tricks on me."
The last time He Zheng suffered such an injustice was half a year ago.
If he could, he would cry out to the heavens: "Heaven, please distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous!"
"I did not retaliate against Xie Ansheng. I did not put the bugs in."
He spoke very seriously, and his classmates genuinely didn't believe him.
"If it wasn't you, then who could it be?"
He Zheng's brow twitched, suppressing his anger as he said, "I, He Zheng, act with integrity and uprightness. If I really don't like someone, I'll just fight them. How could I possibly resort to such underhanded methods!"
Yu Mingshu, sitting in the seat in front of him, felt a little guilty. He turned his head and exchanged a glance with Yu Dan, and the two of them lowered their heads.
The crowd started chattering amongst themselves until Yuan Yi entered carrying the books, which finally calmed their gossipy enthusiasm.
Only after leaving the academy after school did Yu Mingshu dare to tell He Zheng, "The earthworms that Xie Wuyang released were actually released by me."
He Zheng was taken aback. "You put it there?"
Yu Mingshu nodded and said, "He released a snake to scare me, so I returned a bag of insects to him. That's how we repay each other."
He Zheng's brain froze for a moment before he truly grasped her words: she was the one who released the ground beetles.
Realizing belatedly what he had just said in front of others, his thin lips parted slightly, "What I said wasn't directed at you..."
He coughed lightly, then said indignantly, "It's only polite to reciprocate. You did nothing wrong. If it were me, I certainly wouldn't be as kind as you. I would have returned a bag of centipedes to him."
Upon imagining Xie Ansheng pulling out the centipede, Yu Mingshu's bright eyes widened in shock. "That's incredibly insidious."
When Yu Mingshu returned home in the evening, he asked about Zhou Fuling's condition and learned that she hadn't left her room all day, so he went in to take a look.
The little girl sat blankly by the bed, like a walking corpse.
What do you usually do at home?
Upon hearing Yu Mingshu's voice, she seemed to wake up from a dream and raised her head, stammering, "When Mother was still alive, she would teach me embroidery and sewing, and my brother would occasionally ask me to help organize medicinal herbs."
She didn't mention her life after her mother's death, but one can imagine how difficult those days must have been.
"There are many books in the study, not all of them are scriptures, but also some storybooks. If you feel bored, you can go and browse through them."
The little girl's lips trembled, and she hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Yu Mingshu returned to the front yard and found Wu Qiuniang sitting idly under a tree, asking about the family's situation that day.
Wu Qiuniang said, "Zhou Qi came again this afternoon, saying that none of the neighbors had ever seen Fuling and he wanted us to help him find it."
Did he report it to the authorities?
"How could he dare?"
Once the matter was reported to the authorities, the fact that Zhou Fuling had spent the night alone outside could no longer be kept secret.
"So, Miss Zhou, what are your plans for the future?"
“I visited her at noon. She said that she had a younger aunt who had always doted on her since she was a child, and that the aunt had moved to Liangzhou with her husband’s family last year.”
"She wants to go to Liangzhou to visit relatives?"
"Um."
How could Zhou Fuling, a girl of about ten years old, go to Liangzhou alone?
Besides, her aunt had already married into an official's family and had too many things beyond her control. Even if she wanted to take in this poor niece, she would need her husband's family's consent.
But there was no other way.
Zhou Fuling couldn't hide in the Yu family forever. Once the Zhou family reported her to the authorities, the government could easily find her. Then, the Zhou family could accuse the Yu family of abducting a woman, and they would have no way to defend themselves.
Wu Qiuniang said helplessly, "I'll give her more money then, hoping the driver will take her safely to Liangzhou for the sake of the reward."
…
Xie Ansheng returned to school three days later.
As soon as he entered the school gate, the students' noisy laughter stopped abruptly, and their eyes followed him all the way to the back row.
Xie Ansheng went straight to He Zheng.
For a moment, everyone had an expression of anticipation, and some even stood at the classroom door, waiting for the two to start fighting so they could go to the Teachers' College to warn them.
He Zheng lifted his eyelids to look at the person who had come in, but remained unmoved.
Yu Mingshu stared at the two of them warily, feeling genuinely guilty. It seemed that every time He Zheng clashed with Xie Ansheng, he was shielding her and Yu Dan from trouble.
Unexpectedly, Xie Ansheng showed no anger. Instead, he smiled and pulled out an invitation card, slapping it on He Zheng's table.
"My birthday is in two days. My brother is going to hold a birthday banquet for me on the Yingyue River. He Erlang, you must come."
He Zheng raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid I'll cause trouble?"
Xie Ansheng shrugged. "You can try smashing one."
Yu Mingshu frowned and exchanged a glance with Yu Dan, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
Not only the two of them, but also the surrounding classmates were puzzled. What had Xie Ansheng done wrong?
He Zheng didn't say much, and threw the invitation to Jing Hong without even looking at it.
Xie Ansheng accepted it as a gift, turned around and took two steps back, then suddenly stopped, turned his head and gave Yu Mingshu a kind smile.
It's a bit creepy.
“Yu Erlang, according to your status, you are not worthy to attend my Xie family’s banquet.”
Hearing such blatant humiliation, Yu Dan clenched his fists and was about to curse him when Yu Mingshu silenced him with a look.
Yu Mingshu's meaning was clear: let him finish speaking first.
"However, my elder brother, having listened to someone, believes you are exceptionally talented and thus wishes to meet the extraordinary genius of our Wuzi Hall."
Xie Ansheng's tone was slightly contemptuous. He reluctantly took out an invitation card and, with an almost condescending gesture, flipped it over his wrist and tossed it onto Yu Mingshu.
"I hope you will keep the appointment as scheduled and not disappoint the Xie family's hospitality."
A note from the author:
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