Chapter 45 You are more suspicious
"Prince Qi, Lord Qi, where is my silver?"
Inside the carriage, Qi Zheng, dressed in an indigo robe, sat upright. He held a book in his left hand and a teacup in his right, about to take a sip, when the moving carriage suddenly lurched, and then the curtain was forcefully pulled open.
Accompanied by shouts like a debt collector, Song Jin's orange-yellow figure burst in.
Faced with her elusive nature, Qi Zheng was both surprised and unsurprised. After all, jumping out of a carriage was nothing special for her. He glanced at her without changing his expression, and the teacup in his hand, which had remained perfectly still even as the carriage swayed, tilted, spilling tea all over the book in his hand, staining it with ink.
He put down his teacup and said calmly to Song Jin, "Now we only have four hundred taels left."
"..."
The fiery Song Jin stared in disbelief at the prince before her. No, what kind of prince was this? Why was he still so stingy even after returning to the capital?
She grumbled, "What kind of lousy book costs a hundred taels of silver? Your Highness, why don't you just say that I also have to pay a hundred taels for my ride in your carriage?"
After speaking, Song Jin met Qi Zheng's thoughtful gaze. Her lips twitched, and she stepped forward to take the stained book, scoffing, "One hundred taels it is. I want to see what kind of book is so expensive."
Song Jin had bought many books for Yan Sheng before, most of them costing around 500 cash. This book, costing 100 taels, was it made of silver or some kind of antique?
She picked up the book and looked at it; four words on the page were strikingly bright.
Secrets of the Capital
"No need to look anymore," Song Jin immediately closed the book, gently wiped the water stains with his sleeve, stuffed the book into his robes, and said seriously, "I'll offer two hundred taels; now Prince Qi only needs three hundred taels from me."
Qi Zheng was speechless at Song Jin's shameless behavior. He then reached into the drawer beside him, took out a beautifully packaged packet of incense sticks, and tossed it at her, his words concise and to the point.
"Soothing incense, a special supply for the palace"
Song Jin immediately beamed with joy: "Oh, Prince Qi, you're too kind. The accounts are settled, the accounts are settled."
Her mother hasn't been sleeping well lately, and this thing is just what she needed.
A single empty promise swindled me out of a book detailing various secret chambers and incense—what a steal!
She profited, and Qi Zheng didn't lose either. Anyway, these things were given to him by his father; he couldn't use them all himself, nor could he sell them. It was better to give them to this person, which would atone for his previous 'bad words' about her. As for the herbs that could restore internal energy, he pondered for a moment and said…
"Is Madam feeling better? Is there anything I can help you with?"
Song Jin put away the incense, plopped down in her seat, and launched into a long speech to Qi Zheng, recounting what Elder Chong had said. She then asked him, "Prince Qi has traveled extensively in the martial world and knows more than we do. Do you think this is reliable?"
Whether it's reliable or not is hard to say, but at least the high praise has been given.
Qi Zheng met her hopeful gaze, paused, and carefully considered his words, saying, "I observe that Madam's complexion is better than before. If that person has already made their move, I think it should be feasible. Lingnan Gu poison has always been shrouded in mystery; we should only proceed with caution if the treatment method is simple and ordinary."
This seemingly strange and unreliable method of insect breeding actually aligns with the Lingnan style.
Song Jin understood this as well. They had no one else to watch over the place, so they had to come with Elder Insect. But the thought of those ten thousand insects made her uneasy.
She muttered, "How about I try it first, and then I'll have my mother come?"
With her physique, being a guinea pig would be a piece of cake.
Seeing her eager expression, Qi Zheng remained silent for a moment before cutting to the chase: "Madam will not agree."
Song Jin deflated like a punctured balloon. Although she could do it secretly, she was afraid that if her mother found out, she would become stubborn and refuse treatment.
"Sigh, it's all my damned father's fault. If it weren't for him, my mother wouldn't have been so unlucky," Song Jin couldn't help but sigh repeatedly. The topic returned to the culprit, her phoenix eyes bright as she speculated, "But tell me, is my father's Qu Maoze the same Qu Maoze as Song Shang?"
She felt something was off about this.
The Gu poison on her mother points to something more complicated than what she's involved in, and Song Shang is deeply connected to Gu, and bears a striking resemblance to her. Then there's Qu Maoze, who suffers from amnesia but has an ambiguous attitude, and coincidentally, Song Shang has disappeared...
The matter is shrouded in mystery and too coincidental to be anything but suspicious.
Faced with Song Jin's suspicions, Qi Zheng held a similar opinion, but lacking evidence, he could only cautiously reply, "It might be, it might not be."
It seems to make sense, but it's actually a bunch of nonsense.
Song Jin rolled her eyes and asked, "What about Qu Maoze, the guy we picked up on the street? Has he been acting strangely these past few days? We ran into him looking for a place to live yesterday. I thought you'd let him stay with you so you could keep an eye on him."
Qi Zheng shook his head and said, "Keeping them by our side means we won't be able to see anything. It's better to let them out and observe them slowly."
If that person truly has a problem, the longer he stays in the Prince's residence, the less likely he is to reveal it. It's better to give him some freedom and observe him further; if there's a problem, he'll eventually slip up.
Song Jin was an impatient person, and the word "slowly" made her anxious. She slammed her head back against the car frame and asked sincerely, "Isn't it really possible to use torture to extract a confession?"
Qi Zheng's lips twitched, and he warned, "Don't do anything reckless. Using torture to extract confessions is a serious crime."
Song Jin disagreed: "His problems are so serious, special measures are needed in special circumstances."
Just like the Liang family's bombing of the city before, if she hadn't used extreme measures, who knows what would have happened to the city.
In response, Qi Zheng simply said, "In fact, if you remove that name, he's just an ordinary person who fell off a cliff and lost his memory. There seems to be nothing wrong with him."
While upon closer examination, the coincidences were indeed excessive, they couldn't judge a person as problematic based solely on these coincidences. After all, if that were the case, the person in front of them wouldn't be much better.
Qi Zheng sat there, his face solemn, his dark eyes fixed on Song Jin. His voice wasn't loud, but it went straight to the point: "Even without mentioning names, compared to him, you are more suspicious."
Therefore, torture to extract confessions is not feasible.
Song Jin pointed to herself incredulously: "Me? My mother? The two of us are more suspicious?"
Qi Zheng nodded: "That's true."
Hearing Qi Zheng's merciless words and seeing the seriousness on his face, Song Jin laughed in anger. Pointing to herself, she said, "If I were suspicious, would I have bothered going up the mountain with you to catch someone? If I were a bad guy, would I have gone through all that trouble and risked my life to find explosives? Qi Zheng, you have to have a conscience."
Faced with her accusation, Qi Zheng said calmly, "So you'd better take good care of yourself."
Therefore, while reminding his father to be careful, he didn't forget to recommend her for good deeds, so that her bad temper could have more protection in the turbulent capital.
In fact, if it weren't for her meritorious service in saving the city, if it weren't for her intricate relationship with Song Shang, if it weren't for the fact that she had never hidden herself and had always been consistent inside and out as an unreasonable little tyrant without any pretense...
Qi Zheng would no longer simply observe and treat it cautiously as he does now.
Even if she did nothing, her face alone, capable of stirring up bloodshed, and her unfathomable martial arts skills, were enough to arouse all sorts of speculation, not to mention the increasingly mysterious Niu Tielan behind her.
Faced with his suspicion, Song Jinshua stood up abruptly, her face darkening as she walked up to him. In a fit of anger, she grabbed one of his calligraphy brushes and snapped it in two. Then she tore all the Xuan paper and books to shreds, scattering them on the ground like a shower of petals. She kicked over the broken table and stormed off the carriage.
Qi Zheng remained motionless in his original seat, quietly watching the scraps of paper flying around inside the car.
Li Qingshan's cautious voice came from outside: "Your Highness, are you alright?"
Qi Zheng lowered his gaze: "It's nothing, let's keep going."
...
The carriages and horses continued on their way.
one in front and one behind
After jumping off Qi Zheng's carriage, Song Jin didn't immediately return to the Song family's carriage. Instead, she walked along the roadside with her arms crossed, looking rather downcast. She wasn't exactly angry, but she was definitely feeling quite depressed.
She and Qi Zheng had previously gone through thick and thin together exploring the mountains, and then spent nearly half a month together on the road afterward. She thought they could be considered friends; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so presumptuous with this prince, and would have avoided him by now.
Who knew he would be so cold-blooded and ruthless?
So stingy and heartless!
Song Xing couldn't help but touch the book that had been soaked in water and the bundle of calming incense. Before, she had thought this kid was at least somewhat considerate, but now she thought he was incredibly stingy, only knowing how to use these free things to fool her.
She's so infuriating, that stingy bastard!
Song Jin gritted her teeth; her feelings were written all over her face.
Not far ahead in the Song family's carriage, Song Qingzhi quietly lifted the curtain and saw her walking on the road. He hesitated and looked at Niu Tielan, asking, "Madam, my little sister is walking by the roadside. Should we call her in?"
As for why to ask Liu Tielan, it's because his words carry no weight, and if you actually shouted, you might just get scolded.
Niu Tielan, seated, was somewhat surprised to hear this. She lifted the carriage curtain and glanced out, immediately realizing that her daughter had had a falling out with Prince Qi. She lowered the curtain and said calmly...
"Never mind her, let her walk around as much as she wants. She's thick-skinned and it'll be fine."
This brat was so disrespectful in the palace, practically throwing her old mother off balance. Now that she's out of the palace, she's like a monkey, darting from carriage to carriage, doing whatever she wants.
Niu Tielan, whose back was already soaked with sweat, simply closed his eyes to rest, too lazy to care about Song Jin.
Song Qingzhi glanced again at Song Jin, who was standing aggressively by the roadside, then obediently lowered the curtains so he didn't see her either.
Song Jin has been back for three days.
It would be impossible to say that the three older brothers had no complaints about Song Jin.
But they're people you can't afford to offend, you really can't afford to offend.
In the Song family, as long as she had that face, it was like having a get-out-of-jail-free card. No matter how arrogant and troublesome she was, her brothers would just turn a blind eye and pretend they didn't see anything.
Anyway, as long as she doesn't act arrogantly in front of the royal family, she won't cause any major trouble. As for the others, they probably can't beat her either.
That's all right.
Song Qingzhi sat there trying to console himself, thinking that his family, the Song family, had a Song merchant in the past and a Song brocade master in the future; they were destined to never be a prominent family again.
...
Unaware that her own mother was now disliking her, Song Jin walked along the roadside with her arms crossed, her eyes glancing at the vendor hawking his wares across the street. The vendor's candied hawthorns were bright red, each one large and round, strung together beautifully, and followed by a string of buzzing bees—they must taste delicious!
She hesitated for a moment
Li Qingshan's voice came from behind: "Hey buddy, come this way."
Song Jin turned around and saw that the carriage had stopped. The hawkers who were calling out their wares all around saw their carriage and horses and, with great keen insight, hurried over to them.
"Oh, sir, would you like some candied hawthorns? They're all freshly made at noon, and every single hawthorn is carefully selected. They taste absolutely delicious. My family has been making these for over ten years, and everyone who's tried them raves about them."
Li Qingshan didn't speak, but turned to look inside the carriage.
Qi Zheng moved to the car door and looked at the straw stalks covered with bright red candied hawthorns, estimating there were about fifty skewers. He asked, "You're still making so many in the afternoon?"
The vendor wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, "It's the time after work in the afternoon, so everyone's in a good mood and they'll just buy a skewer for their kids. If we go to a few different places, we'll eventually sell out."
Qi Zheng asked, "How much is a skewer?"
Vendor: "Three coins a skewer, sir. If you buy two skewers, I'll give you a discount to five coins."
Qi Zheng looked at the vendor's hunched back and the sweat on his forehead, and said, "If I buy them all, won't you be at a disadvantage?"
The vendor was delighted and clasped his hands in thanks: "How could I lose money? If the adults buy them all, I can make another batch later, so the children can have a couple more meatballs tonight."
Qi Zheng didn't ask anything further, and simply took out half a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it over: "Leave it here, along with the straw."
This half tael of silver is worth five hundred coins, while a string of candied hawthorns would normally cost around one hundred and fifty coins.
"Thank you so much, sir!" The vendor grinned from ear to ear, took the money, thanked him repeatedly, and then ran off happily.
Judging from the look of it, the vendor probably won't rest after he gets home; instead, he'll continue making gourds to sell, since every extra string he sells adds up to his earnings.
However, making candied hawthorn skewers was a later matter; they're definitely not available now.
Song Jin stood still, her phoenix eyes slightly wide, staring intently at the candied hawthorn skewers that had now changed owners.
This person did it on purpose, didn't they?
Why would a grown man like him eat candied hawthorns? Even if he does eat them, buying so many is just showing off how many people are in his royal palace, isn't it?
Song Jin grew angrier the more she thought about it. She pouted, stormed over, and glared at Qi Zheng: "You..."
Before she could finish speaking, the candied hawthorn stick was already handed to her, and the bright red candied hawthorns looked very appealing.
Song Jin asked dryly, "What do you mean?"
The words were the same as before, only the tone had changed from arrogant to doubtful.
Qi Zheng handed the item over again, his face still expressionless, but more mellow than usual. He said succinctly, "Here you go."
Song Jin realized what was happening, crossed his arms, tilted his chin up, and said smugly, "Oh, you bought this for me? What, you think you can bribe me with this half a tael of silver? Where's your dignity as a prince?"
Qi Zheng: "A small gift carries great meaning"
Song Jin gave a light snort and continued, "How heavy is it?"
Qi Zheng lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. After a long while, he said, "Tonight or tomorrow, the reward your father gave you for saving the city will arrive at the Song residence. At that time, you don't need to worry about anyone targeting your and your mother's identities."
Even though Song Jin is currently known to the public as Song Shang's daughter, and no one would doubt this once they've met her, she still lacks official status and legitimacy, which doesn't sound good. With the Emperor's decree, things will be different. Anyone else trying to use her identity will have to think twice.
At first, Song Jin didn't react, thinking that the Emperor's reward had nothing to do with him. But then he thought that the Emperor must have known about her achievements because the person in front of him had told him.
Although he mentioned the unusual nature of their mother-daughter relationship, he still gave them the credit they deserved, indicating that he didn't treat them as suspicious individuals.
She looked up at Qi Zheng. He was a handsome man, but his tall stature and resolute, sharp demeanor somewhat obscured his features. Now, with a sincere expression and a softened demeanor, his handsome face became even more striking, and paired with strings of bright red candied hawthorns, he even possessed a touch of innocent awkwardness.
Song Jin snorted and took the long string of candied hawthorns: "You do have some conscience. If I really had any bad intentions, how could you all have come back so easily? But although you are petty, I am broad-minded and won't hold it against you."
Qi Zheng didn't object to this point, and gave a soft "hmm".
If this person really had any ulterior motives, they would suffer heavy losses, if not total annihilation. He knew this better than anyone.
As Song Jin spoke, she directly pulled out a skewer of candied hawthorns, took a bite, and found it sweet and sour, very refreshing on a summer day. With one skewer still in her mouth, she freed her hand to pull out another and give it to Qi Zheng.
Qi Zheng hesitated for a moment, then took it and, under her bright phoenix eyes, gently took a bite.
Song Jin was satisfied, her eyebrows arching again, and she said happily, "Although the candied hawthorns taste good, I'm not so easily bribed, unless you add two more roast chickens, no, three."
She couldn't stop thinking about the roast chicken Qi Zheng made during their trip to the mountains that day; it was a pity she didn't have the chance to eat it again. Now that the opportunity had come, she couldn't miss it.
Faced with her impoliteness, Qi Zheng paused for a moment and said, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is in a few days. Many people in the capital go to the Sanqing Temple in the suburbs to pray and ask for blessed items. It is said that they can protect you and are very effective. Why don't you and your wife go there for a stroll the day after tomorrow?"
Song Jin tilted her head: "What does this have to do with roast chicken?"
Qi Zheng: "...I'll be staying there for one night tomorrow. When you arrive the day after, I'll have Guard Li deliver it to you. There are too many people and too many eyes in the capital; it might affect your reputation."
Song Jin was speechless.
The Da Yan Dynasty has always been known for its open-mindedness. It's common for young men and women to go out together in groups. It's not uncommon for young men and women to express their feelings for each other by writing letters and giving gifts. After establishing a relationship, it's also quite common for them to go out together.
This guy has been wandering the world for so many years, how come he's so old-fashioned?
Song Jin couldn't understand, and her words were difficult to explain: "Are you serious?"
Qi Zheng, chin clenched, nodded: "There are too many gossips in the capital, it's best to be careful."
It doesn't matter what happens to him as a man, but this world is harsh on women. Both of them have special identities; individually, they're the subject of much gossip, but together…
The capital city is teeming with scholars. Although these men may lack martial arts skills, their mouths are deadly weapons.
Qi Zheng had long been insightful
Although Song Jin may not care much about these things, it's still good to pay attention if possible.
Seeing his avoidance of suspicion, Song Jin assumed that he was afraid of being implicated by her suspicious behavior and wanted to keep his distance as much as possible.
She rolled her eyes, gritted her teeth, and took a big bite of the bright red candied hawthorn, chewing it to pieces in a few bites. As she chewed, she glared at Qi Zheng, gritting her teeth, and said, "Whatever."
After saying that, she stormed off, carrying the pile of candied hawthorns. This time, however, she didn't continue walking along the roadside; she quickly boarded the Song family's carriage and soon disappeared from sight.
"Miss Song seems to have misunderstood again."
Li Qingshan sat in front of the carriage, and not only did he not receive a single glance from beginning to end, he also didn't get a single candied hawthorn from that huge pile of candied hawthorns, watching as Song Jin walked away nimbly.
He turned and stared at the candied hawthorn in Qi Zheng's hand, saying, "His Highness is worried that if Miss Song gets too close to you, she'll become the target of everyone's criticism. If you say this to her directly, she definitely won't be angry."
Qi Zheng lowered his eyes: "It's alright."
Looking at Qi Zheng's expression, Li Qingshan didn't think he was truly unaffected. He rolled his eyes and said, "Indeed, Your Highness and Miss Song are just strangers who met by chance, so there's no need to care about her thoughts. If Your Highness wants candied hawthorns, why bother with commoners' treats? Why not go back and have Chef Zhao make them with Northern Desert sugar and hawthorns specially supplied by Pingsheng Prefecture? The taste will definitely be exceptional. As for this skewer, why not give it to me?"
"Let's go back home."
Qi Zheng, with a solemn expression, glanced at him, then picked up the candied hawthorn and returned to the carriage, not minding how sticky it was.
As the carriage curtain fell, Li Qingshan couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Although this old friend has gone from a wandering swordsman to a high-ranking prince, he hasn't changed much from before.
Just then, Qi Zheng's voice came from inside again. He said calmly, "Since you like it, I'll have Chef Zhao make you a basket when we get back. Remember to finish it."
Li Qingshan: ……
His teeth
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