QYT - 26

Fudong looked at Qingwei in fear. The gunpowder explosion had grazed her cheek with sand and gravel. She was injured but didn’t dare to wipe her face. She nodded submissively.

Qingwei said, “Why did you want to kill me?”

Fudong hesitated, then said in a low voice, “Fourth Young Master said that you were the female thief who broke into the Fuxia House and that I shouldn’t let you get away. I work for Fourth Young Master, so when I had the chance, I naturally had to kill you.”

Qingwei sneered, not believing her at all. “Just you?”

She didn’t dwell on the question. She opened her palm, revealing the jade hairpin she had just picked up. “Where did you get this hairpin?”

The jade hairpin was broken into three pieces, and one of the swallow’s wings on the hairpin head was missing. When Fudong saw it, she immediately said, “Give it back to me!”

Qingwei closed her palm and tightened her grip on Fudong’s throat. “Answer my question.”

Fudong was almost choked and said with difficulty, “This jade hairpin was originally mine!”

Qingwei was puzzled by this.

She had wanted to play games with Fudong, but now that the Inspection Office had cleared the alley, Zhang Ting and his group were about to arrive. She had to get an answer as soon as possible.

She hesitated for a moment, turned sideways, and blocked Jiang Cizhou and the others from seeing. She took something out of her waist pouch. “Then what about this one?”

The jade hairpin in Qingwei’s hand was the one Xue Changxing had left for her, identical to the one Fudong had used to try and kill her.

Fudong’s face changed drastically. “How do you have this hairpin?” she asked anxiously. “Where, where did you find it?”

The fire from the wine shop was burning brightly, illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime. Qingwei carefully observed Fudong. The shock and urgency in her eyes didn’t seem fake.

So, this pair of swallows jade hairpin was really hers? Had Xue Changxing risked his life to come to the capital just to find her?

Qingwei tested her with a question. “Do you know Xue Changxing?”

Fudong was stunned. “Who is Xue Changxing?”

Before Qingwei could answer, she asked anxiously again, “Miss, please tell me, where did you find this jade hairpin?”

Qingwei was about to answer when she heard Jiang Cizhou call out “Wife.” Qingwei turned her head and saw that He Hongyun and his group were already looking for them in the alley.

Qingwei said, “One last question. Do you have anything to do with the Xijintai?”

When Fudong heard this question, the urgency in her eyes turned to shock. She hesitated, and the defensiveness and hostility in her tone faded significantly. She asked, “Who exactly are you, miss?”

As she heard the footsteps getting closer from the alley entrance, she said, “Miss, I came to the capital precisely because of the Xijintai. Since you have this jade hairpin, we must be friends, not enemies. Tonight’s events were sudden, and I can’t tell you too much. Please trust me. When I find another opportunity, I will definitely come and find you.”

Her tone was extremely sincere. However, Qingwei didn’t dare to trust her so easily.

She thought about it carefully. Right now, she had no other choice but to let Fudong go. Zhang Ting and He Hongyun’s group were all here. She couldn’t possibly silence Fudong in front of everyone.

Forget it. He Hongyun had already anticipated what Fudong knew. If she let her go back, Fudong wouldn’t be able to reveal anything important.

Qingwei released her grip on Fudong’s throat.

Fudong was injured and covered in dust from the explosion. Seeing He Hongyun approach, she quickly shed a few tears. She clutched her clothes, lowered her head, and hurried toward He Hongyun, calling out piteously, “Fourth Young Master...”

He Hongyun ignored her and strode toward Jiang Cizhou, feigning surprise. “Ziling, what are you doing here? I heard there were thieves here and was looking for you.”

Before Jiang Cizhou could answer, a calm voice came from behind. “What’s going on?”

Qingwei looked up. Among a group of scholars stood a person in a scholar’s robe with a commanding presence.

He had a pair of flying eyebrows and long, narrow eyes. Although he was handsome, his high cheekbones made him look a little aloof.

Everyone around him looked to him for leadership. The person reporting to him was the Investigating Official of the Capital Prefecture.

“Reporting to Young Master Zhang, I have initially determined that the wine shop at the end of the alley is called the Zhezhiju. Commander Jiang was inside, and later, thieves broke in, probably...” The Investigating Official wiped his sweat with his sleeve, as if the case was very serious. “...intending to assassinate the commander.”

Qingwei realized that the person asking the question was the rumored Young Master Zhang.

Zhang Ting was as famous as He Hongyun and a leader among the younger generation in the court. He came from the prominent Zhang clan. His father, Zhang Heshu, was a high-ranking official, and his sister, Zhang Yuanjia, was the current empress. Zhang Ting was a year younger than He Hongyun. In terms of official rank and power, he was slightly higher than He Hongyun, already holding the position of Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review at a young age.

To prevent fires, important streets and alleys in the capital often had watchtowers. The fire had risen into the sky just now, and a fire brigade had quickly arrived.

Zhang Ting instructed his group to retreat to the alley entrance, allowing the firemen to enter with their pumps and ladders to extinguish the fire. He turned back and continued to question the Investigating Official. “Have you found out who tried to assassinate the commander?”

“Not yet,” the Investigating Official stammered. “We only know that it was premeditated. The assassins were all wearing black clothes, and...”

“And what?”

The Investigating Official wiped his sweat again. “And they seemed to be death warriors. All the ones who could run have run away. There are no survivors. They had poison in their back teeth and are all dead. In addition, there was a lot of smoke from gunpowder in the Zhezhiju, so it seems there was an explosion. The people from the Inspection Office couldn’t pursue them either...”

Everyone present had ears and had guessed that it was gunpowder from the loud explosion. The moment the Investigating Official said this, everyone’s eyes turned to Zou Ping.

Zou Ping was usually arrogant and couldn’t keep his cool. Now, he was even more unable to stay calm and was the first to get angry. “Why are you all looking at me? This, this gunpowder has nothing to do with me!”

When he said this, He Hongyun subtly frowned.

Immediately, someone from the scholars with Zhang Ting laughed. “That’s strange. No one said it was Commander Zou. Why is he so eager to deny it?”

“Exactly. Is he guilty? There was such a huge commotion in the alley just now, and your guards insisted that there were just thieves and didn’t let anyone in to see. What’s the deal now? It’s become a major case of assassinating a court official? Are Commander Zou’s guards blind and mistook thieves for assassins, or is he crying thief to catch a thief?”

These words already implied suspicion of Zou Ping.

After hearing this, Zhang Ting didn’t seem to take it to heart. Instead, he asked Jiang Cizhou, “I heard that Commander Jiang was hosting a banquet at Donglaishun tonight. Could you tell me why you appeared at the Zhezhiju?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “I was hosting a banquet at Donglaishun. Halfway through the banquet, I missed Miss Fudong’s wine. I heard that Miss Fudong was the former owner of the Zhezhiju and had buried a jar of wine under a tree in the wine shop’s courtyard. I followed her here to get the wine and was ambushed.”

Zhang Ting then asked, “Approximately how many people ambushed the commander? Has the commander offended anyone or had any conflicts recently?”

“I can’t remember the number. Young Master Zhang can ask my guards later. As for who I’ve offended recently...” Jiang Cizhou thought for a moment, then smiled. “There are many people who can’t stand me. How can I remember every single one? As for conflicts, there don’t seem to have been any...”

“How can there be none!” Jiang Cizhou’s words were interrupted by Qu Mao.

He had always been close to Jiang Cizhou as a drinking and feasting companion and considered him a confidant. Seeing Jiang Cizhou ambushed tonight, he was indignant and had already made some guesses. He pointed at Zou Ping. “A while ago, when there were thieves at Young Master He’s estate, Ziling was held hostage by the thief. Zou Zhuyuan, ignoring Ziling’s safety, actually ordered his guards to fire arrows! Afterward, he argued that his guards were from the Court of the Imperial Insignia’s archery division and were very accurate, so they wouldn’t harm Ziling. I believed him then, but now that I think about it, what if the thief was vicious and used Ziling as a shield? Are his guards so magically powerful that they can predict whether the thief will use him as a shield?!”

Qu Mao became more and more indignant as he spoke, and he felt that his guess was correct. “The Inspection Office shouldn’t even be equipped with crossbows. Ever since he got promoted, he has been swaggering around with his guards every day. Everyone knows these guards came from his father’s office. What does the Court of the Imperial Insignia do? It’s in charge of military weapons and gunpowder! Since they have crossbows, why couldn’t they have gunpowder? And just now, he desperately had the Inspection Office block the alley, not letting anyone in. I think you wanted to kill Ziling!”

Both Jiang Cizhou and Zhang Ting had invited many people to their banquets tonight, and many of them had been to He Hongyun’s estate a few days ago. When Qu Mao said this, everyone present remembered.

Jiang Cizhou and Zou Ping had both recently become officials through family favor. Zou Ping was a commander in the Inspection Office, but Jiang Cizhou held the high position of Deputy Commander of the Xuan Ying Division. Jiang Cizhou’s rank was much higher than Zou Ping’s. People get angry over inequality, not scarcity. Zou Ping’s family background was even better than Jiang Cizhou’s, so he was upset that Jiang Cizhou’s official position was higher than his. He had told many people that he felt the Jiang family was climbing the social ladder.

Furthermore, at the banquet at He Hongyun’s estate that day, Zou Ping had taken a liking to Fudong and had a dispute with Jiang Cizhou over her. Many people remembered this. A dispute over a woman was nothing special, but when connected to all the events of today—Fudong attending Jiang Cizhou’s banquet and secretly inviting him to the Zhezhiju—it made sense that Zou Ping, out of jealousy, would go all the way and try to kill him.

Zou Ping naturally knew who had arranged the ambush at the Zhezhiju tonight, but he hadn’t expected the situation to develop this way. He usually followed He Hongyun’s lead, and Zhang Ting and He Hongyun were sworn enemies. Now that Young Master Zhang was here, he was probably eager to find a fault with him. If Qu Mao kept talking, Zou Ping would start to feel like he was the mastermind.

What crime was it to ambush a court official?

Zou Ping’s face turned pale. His thick eyebrows drooped, and he cried out, “It wasn’t me! It really wasn’t me...”

It was late at night. The people present were either scholars or children of nobility. A case this serious couldn’t be clarified with a few words. Moreover, since a court official was involved, no one, not even Zhang Ting as the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, dared to make a final judgment on how to handle the case and who should handle it. The only solution for now was to report it to the court.

He didn’t say anything more. Seeing that the fire was dying down, he looked at a constable who had come out of the alley and asked, “Is the fire out?”

“Reporting to Young Master Zhang, it’s almost completely out.”

The constable held a torch and stood near Jiang Cizhou. He Hongyun, using the torchlight, seemed to finally notice Qingwei behind Jiang Cizhou. He opened his mouth in surprise. “Isn’t that my sister-in-law? What is she doing here?”

He looked Qingwei up and down and was surprised again. “Why is my sister-in-law wearing night clothes?”

Qingwei’s veil had fallen off during the fight, and she hadn’t covered her face when she came out. Besides, even if she had covered her face, He Hongyun knew she was here, and if Zhang Ting wanted to investigate the case, he would expose her sooner or later. If her identity were revealed on the spot, it would be a classic case of a guilty conscience. It was better to just leave her face exposed.

When He Hongyun said this, Zhang Ting’s gaze immediately fell on Qingwei.

A moment later, he looked at Qi Ming and the others, who were also wearing black clothes. He recognized them as the newly appointed Xuan Ying guards and said with a cold voice, “The Xuan Ying guards are the emperor’s personal guards. It’s inappropriate for the commander to use them as his personal bodyguards, isn’t it?”

Jiang Cizhou smiled. “It is inappropriate. A few of my subordinates were on leave today, and I asked them to come. Thank you for the reminder, Young Master Zhang. I will write a letter of apology and submit it to the emperor later.”

He Hongyun said, “Lanruo, you’re being too harsh. After all, this is all my fault. The last time there were thieves at my estate, Ziling was almost killed. It’s only right for him to have a few extra guards by his side these days.” He paused. “It’s one thing for Ziling to bring Xuan Ying guards, but why did he let his sister-in-law also disguise herself as a Xuan Ying guard to accompany him? If she had encountered thieves again and gotten hurt, what would we have done?”

Qingwei’s heart tightened when she heard this.

He Hongyun wasn’t really concerned about her. He was clearly trying to get Zhang Ting to think deeply about her disguise as a Xuan Ying guard!

Once Zhang Ting started investigating in this direction, and it turned into a search for the female thief at He Hongyun’s estate, the focus of Zou Ping’s case would completely change.

He was indeed a clever man, using a subtle move to throw off the focus.

Qingwei knew this was bad. She had to find a plausible excuse to explain why she was disguised as a Xuan Ying guard tonight.

As Qingwei was thinking, she couldn’t help but look at Jiang Cizhou. Jiang Cizhou also turned back to look at her.

Their eyes met, and an idea instantly formed in their minds.

A moment later.

Jiang Cizhou reached out to hold Qingwei’s hand. “Wife.”

Qingwei looked down and said nothing, shaking off his hand.

Jiang Cizhou said again, “Wife, stop making a scene...”

Qingwei didn’t look at him. “Didn’t you say you were just hosting a banquet? What is this now? You’re hosting a banquet and then taking someone to the Zhezhiju?”

She sneered. “If I hadn’t secretly followed you, I wouldn’t have discovered you were cheating on me.”

“My wife, listen to me. There was a shortage of wine at the banquet, so I followed Miss Fudong to the Zhezhiju to get some wine...”

“Do you think I’ll believe you?” Qingwei turned her head and glared at Jiang Cizhou, saying in a cold voice, “A few days ago, you went to that estate and fell for a courtesan. Tonight’s banquet was also for her. Did you think you could hide it from me?”

Jiang Cizhou opened his mouth, looking very surprised, as if he couldn’t understand how Qingwei knew his whereabouts.

Being exposed by his wife in front of everyone, Jiang Cizhou was very displeased. After thinking about it, he said in a low voice, “Chaotian, did you rat on me to my wife?”

Chaotian was dumbfounded. “Young master, I didn’t—”

“I was so kind to you before because you didn’t have a good weapon. I paid out of my own pocket to get you a new blade. I can’t believe you’re such a backstabber!” He said angrily. “Where’s the blade?”

“Young master?”

“I asked you, where’s the blade?!”

Chaotian shakily unbuckled the new blade from his waist and handed it to Jiang Cizhou.

Jiang Cizhou took it and slammed it on the ground with a “bang.” “A sharp weapon in the hands of a worthless person might as well be thrown away!”

Chaotian stumbled back a couple of steps, his heart almost splitting in two.

Qingwei wasn’t to be outdone. “You did something wrong, so why blame Chaotian? If you hadn’t been so unfaithful, why would I have had to find Qi Ming and have him take me to follow you every day to see what you were up to, drinking and feasting?”

“Last time, you went to some estate and said you would bring me ‘Fish and Freshness.’ It came back already stinking. This time, you came to Donglaishun and said you would bring me some roast goose. Where’s the roast goose?!” She looked around and her eyes landed on the food box that Derong had used to hold the gunpowder. She snatched it and smashed it on the ground, destroying the evidence. “Where’s the roast goose?! I think your heart has already flown to some other flower!”

“Last time?” Jiang Cizhou saw her smash the food box, and his anger also flared up. He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. “You have the nerve to bring up the last time? Last time, I was just at a friend’s estate for a drink. If you hadn’t gone to the palace and complained to the empress dowager in that sarcastic way, why would my father have lectured me?!”

Qingwei said, “The empress dowager and your father protected me, which means I was in the right. You don’t repent and get worse, and now you’re blaming me? Did your father tell you to restrain yourself and be more diligent? Did you do it?!”

“When other people get married, they say their honeymoon is like honey. I think marrying you is just asking for trouble!”

“Do you think I was happy about getting married to you?!”

“You—” Jiang Cizhou was furious. He flung his sleeve. “Fine, if we can get through it, we get through it. If we can’t, then we can get a—”

Before the word “divorce” could come out of his mouth, Jiang Cizhou was grabbed by Qu Mao, who interrupted him. “Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth.”

He pulled Jiang Cizhou to the side and whispered, “It’s only been a few days since you got married, and you’re already talking about ‘divorce’? Do you want to become the laughingstock of the entire capital?” He then advised, “She’s just a woman. How can she ride on your head? If she’s pleasant to the eye, just deal with it. If not, just ignore her, and she’ll get used to it eventually. You’re the dignified Deputy Commander of the Xuan Ying Division. Are you worried that you won’t be able to have a garden of flowers in your backyard in the future?”

Jiang Cizhou was still upset. “But I just can’t get over it. Why should she control me like this...”

Qu Mao continued to offer more advice.

The couple had a big argument in the street and stood on opposite sides, not looking at each other.

Zhang Ting also understood now. It turned out that Jiang Cizhou had been causing trouble at He Hongyun’s estate a few days ago and had been caught by his wife. Afterward, his wife not only complained to the empress dowager but also, out of mistrust, disguised herself as a guard to follow him and see what he had been doing with his continuous drinking and banqueting.

While Jiang Cizhou’s use of the Xuan Ying guards to protect himself had a hint of using public resources for personal matters, since Qi Ming and the others were on leave, this was ultimately a family matter, and he couldn’t interfere.