Relics
The cool fragrance and the continuous sound of water like a stream outside the window are soft and refreshing.
Qin Lan woke up from the endless darkness.
The dazzling light of dawn shone into his slightly opened eyes. His entire body was tied up with cloth strips, making him completely unable to move. In his peripheral vision, he could only see the pitch-black envelope.
...It was a letter he received from his troops before setting off.
His mind quickly became clear in the silent, almost deserted place. His eyes looked at the abyss-like blackness, and the memories before he fell into a coma came to his mind one after another.
It was as fierce as a wave, as if it was going to drown him.
Without the Intelligence Center, I can no longer return home to the capital using this tool.
Friends, parents, companions.
If you make the wrong choice once, the result will be that all the "emotions" that you have accumulated with great effort will be gone.
I'm homeless.
His identity is unknown, and the temporary base built by the Intelligence Bureau must have been destroyed by the other party.
He also doesn't have the money to pay the medical bills that the person who cured him needs to pay. He simply can't afford it.
We are about to reach a point where there is nowhere to hide and survive.
Why didn't the young man named Yan kill him?
Why did his followers swear to protect him to the death?
If only there were a quick and effective knife strike that would pierce his heart cleanly.
He doesn't have to think about these troubles.
……strangeness.
He has clearly realized everything he has lost, so why doesn't his emotions fluctuate at all?
Is this what the troops call self-protection?
A strong feeling of fatigue suddenly came over me, and spots of black began to appear around my vision.
In his drowsiness, the door of the room was pushed open, and a bowl of herbs with a faint bitter taste was placed on the cabinet beside his bed.
The scent of the person who came was the same as the one he smelled before he fell into a coma. It was the same person.
In a state of half-sleep and half-wakefulness, a faint and somewhat indifferent voice came from above his head: "Are you awake? Drink this herbal decoction if you have the strength."
"Afterwards, we'll calculate the medical expenses, as well as the cost of me carrying you back to the sect and brewing the herbs to save you."
The girl spoke quickly, with a hint of impatience.
After a pause, she continued, "By the way, if you can hear me, please remember my name—the name of your savior."
The room was silent for a moment. Qin Lan smelled the faint bitter scent of herbs and heard the girl speak.
"My name is Tao Yu. If you don't pay for your medical expenses in time, I will put you back into this immobile state."
"So once I'm able to move again, I'll think about how to pay for my medical treatment."
—
The memories that flashed through his mind were like needles, playing out clearly and cruelly in his thoughts.
Qin Lan lowered his eyes for a moment, then smiled at Jiang Nian and said, "Did you see the black envelope in that data room?"
"That's all I have left to commemorate them."
"If Miss Jiang is worried, you can go and take a look."
Jiang Nian didn't want to pry into other people's hobby of keeping old things to remind them of their past. She shook her head and said, "No need. I think I understand."
Qin Lan kept silent about the days when he fought side by side with the remnants of the bishop. I'm afraid they were not good memories.
Choosing her words carefully, she chose a question that wouldn't cross the line, "Does the Fourth Prince need me to explain...?"
Surprised by her sharp observation, Qin Lan was silent for a moment before he lowered his eyes helplessly. He smiled and sighed, "Miss Jiang is truly a meticulous person. You've noticed even such a small detail."
"but……"
His eyes wandered thoughtfully for a moment.
"No problem. If the Fourth Prince really asks me about it, I will answer honestly."
"Your Majesty's attitude towards me is to turn a blind eye, and this little suspicion and pressure is not a big deal."
Just suspicion and knocking?
With the help of Xiao Yingzhu, Qin Lan forcibly opened up a new path for the Intelligence Bureau in the shadows. In the long run, this account won the trust of the Changde Emperor, which was equivalent to obtaining a guarantee of long-term interests.
Seeing that he didn't need any help, Jiang Nian didn't ask any more questions.
"Indeed, these are the questions I want to confirm today... Thank you, Mr. Qin, for being willing to answer them for me."
The goldfish in the fish pond sank and floated in the water.
Qin Lan still maintained his original posture of folding his arms, looking at the fish in the pond, and said with a nonchalant smile: "Nothing, just an old story. It is my honor to answer Miss Jiang's confusion."
Feeling that his aura was slightly weaker than before, Jiang Nian nodded slightly, not wanting to delve into the painful memories, and changed the subject lightly:
"I'm still very concerned about Meng Yao's situation. Why don't we go back to Yan and discuss it, and synchronize some clues?"
Qin Lan lowered his arms, then raised one hand to support his waist. He turned back and smiled at her, "Okay, let's go back and talk about that now. I just happened to have something to tell you about Meng Yao."
"What a coincidence?"
Jiang Nian smiled gently, and when she saw the barely perceptible melancholy on Qin Lan's face disappear, she instantly relaxed a lot.
By putting pressure on others to ask the questions you want to ask, you are also putting that pressure on yourself.
The atmosphere is much more relaxed now, and my tense nerves can finally relax.
"Let's go back then. I think... Xiao Ai must be getting restless."
While eating fruits, she heard about the results Ai had achieved after her calligraphy battle in the afternoon. Calculating the time, the time she spent out talking with Qin Lan was enough for her to go from being calm to being bored and dazed and falling asleep. Using the topic of "Meng Yao" to stimulate her at this time was like saving the situation.
"Her." Speaking of someone he cared about, Qin Lan's sharp, deep features softened considerably, and the corners of his lips curled slightly. "She always likes to slack off, and in the end, when it comes time to show off her achievements, I'm the one who gets hurt."
Jiang Nian was surprised for a moment, then asked, "Really? What kind of punishment?"
In previous years, the sect had a lot of affairs and visitors during the New Year.
Although the relationship and ties with the court and people living at the foot of the mountain have long been weakened, there are still some elderly people who received charity during the famine who will bring their younger generations up the mountain to give them gifts.
Tao Yu's master was a well-known fortune teller who also had some knowledge of medicine, so more and more people came to visit him on the mountain.
Usually when Tao Yu can’t take it, he will give it to Qin Lan to take.
Recalling the past years when Ai's calligraphy on Spring Festival couplets was too ugly and Tao Yu was not willing to give up easily, Qin Lan raised his hand to scratch his face and said with a helpless laugh, "It should be sorting out New Year's gifts and calculating the difference between income and expenditure, right?"
Jiang Nian blinked: "Are there a lot of people giving gifts during the New Year?"
Qin Lan smiled but said nothing.
Isn’t it? It’s enough to fill an entire mansion.
It's all up to him.
If this goes on every year, he will definitely not be able to stand it.
Seeing a certain determination on Qin Lan's face, Jiang Nian didn't understand the meaning, but he still blessed him: "Then I will help Qin Lan to realize his wish."
"For example?"
Facing the casual words that suddenly interrupted him, Xiao Yingzhu had leaned against the pillar of the mansion without him knowing when.
Before Jiang Nian could react, he subconsciously said, "For example, let Ai learn beautiful calligraphy?"
—
The room, which was not very big to begin with, suddenly became a little crowded with three more people.
Qin Lan hadn't expected Xiao Yingzhu to visit him at this time. He asked in surprise, "What brings you here?"
Xiao Yingzhu glanced at the horrible calligraphy on the table and replied lightly, "Can't you come if there's nothing wrong?"
"...Of course that's not what I meant."
It's just that you didn't come earlier or later, but had to come when Jiang Nian came to see me, which makes it easy for people to associate you with the same thing.
Knowing that his friend didn't like others exposing his thoughts and ideas, Qin Lan decided to save some face for Xiao Yingzhu in front of Jiang Nian and not expose her shortcomings. Therefore, he changed the subject subtly:
"I'm so glad you're here. I happened to be talking about Meng Yao's affairs. Although it has little to do with you, why not listen to it?"
The servants brought in a few chairs from outside. Xiao Yingzhu didn't choose and randomly chose a wooden chair to sit down. She continued:
"That's fine, you guys talk, I'll just listen."
“…”
Qin Lan looked at Xiao Yingzhu several times, and seeing that she was unmoved by his gaze and expression, he became more certain of his guess.
This person must have come because of Jiang Nianzai.
—
Jiang Nian, who had no idea that he had become the bait to catch Xiao Yingzhu, looked at Ai's handwriting, made some suggestions based on Qin Lan's request, and pointed out her shortcomings before going to the table.
It was just a casual chat after dinner, but the protagonists were relatively famous, so they just sat in a half circle, waiting for Yan and Qin Lan to tell about what they encountered later.
The only two chairs left were the one to Qin Lan's right and the one to Xiao Yingzhu's left. Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then sat on the chair next to the latter without hesitation.
Now that everyone was present, Yan simply got straight to the point:
"After Meng Yao escaped through the thick white fog, he brought Princess Qingping with him to a private residence."
"Because there is a basement passage behind the mansion that was left by the bishop, and it happened to be the place where I met Xuan Guixizhen, my memory is relatively clear. Even though the route to the basement is complicated, I was able to grasp it."
"Meng Yao is currently being held captive by the soldiers led by Princess Qingping. He will be brought back to the capital in due time."
"And Princess Qingping——"
Yan hesitated for half a second, exchanged glances with Qin Lan, and then continued, "I don't know if it's the white mist, or if Meng Yao let her smell something when he kidnapped her. Right now... she's still asleep."
It has been a few days since the second day of the Flower Festival.
Jiang Nian frowned slightly at what Xinlan had said about death. "Is there any possibility of recovery?"
Qin Lan tapped the table with his fingertips and shook his head slightly: "The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. The methods used by the Wu Mi people are always confusing and difficult to analyze."
"Meng Yao will not answer any questions related to Princess Qingping at the moment, so—"
"Miss Jiang, I'll have to trouble you with Princess Qingping's matter."
…
Does Qin Lan want to find the antidote while she is looking for the goddess, or force the goddess to give him the antidote?
If she had answered yes when Lan asked her if she needed help, this incident would not have happened.
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, then nodded gently and said, "Well, I'll try my best."
"good."
After receiving the affirmation which was not extremely certain, Qin Lan narrowed his eyes and smiled, then looked at Yan again.
"There's one thing you haven't said yet."
"yes."
Yan closed the book he had just finished reading and said to Jiang, "...When you went to the Flower Court, did you see a girl named Yu?"
"That is, the eldest daughter of the prefect."
Jiang Nian blinked and thought for a moment: "Yes, wasn't she sent back to the mansion by Princess Qingping?"
I heard Ai say that before.
As if sensing Jiang Nian's thoughts, Ai, who had been staring blankly with his eyes down, raised his eyes and looked at her.
"Yes, that's what I'm going to say next."
Yan paused and continued, "She ran away from the mansion again... because Princess Qingping, who had agreed with her, did not reply to her letter in time."
"She was worried that an object had harmed Princess Qingping, so she went to the Flower Festival venue to look for it."
"Although this question may sound a bit unreasonable, according to what the young lady said, that object and--"
Yan glanced at Xiao Yingzhu who was listening to their conversation nonchalantly.
"Hmm...it's related to Duke Xiao."
"Also, she left an ornament on the grounds. That ornament was a relic left to her by her mother, so..."
"Miss Jiang, are you touring the Shichan Hall area? Did you find anything?"
"We sent the Feather Tribe's troops to search, but they found nothing."
Yan laughed in frustration and looked at Jiang Nian: "Does Miss Jiang have any relevant clues?"
"It doesn't matter if you don't have it."
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