QYT - 35

There were many officials in the palace with the surname He, but only two were referred to as Old Master He and Young Master He—

The current Minister of the Imperial Chancellery, He Shiqing, and the Director of the Ministry of Works, He Hongyun.

Qingwei said, “If what the matron said is true, and the people Xu Tu truly connected with through the inferior iron pear wood were He Shiqing and He Hongyun, then everything makes sense.

“It was the two Hes who embezzled the money by exploiting the price difference of the wood. He Zhongliang and Wei Sheng were just the bridges connecting the two Hes with Xu Tu. The two Hes promised Xu Tu that after the matter was settled, they would get Xu Shubai an official position in the capital. Unexpectedly, the Xijintai collapsed, and the truth about the wood was exposed. Fearing they would be implicated, the two Hes silenced and killed Xu Tu’s family, and made Wei Sheng and He Zhongliang the scapegoats.

“And Xu Shubai, he was originally going to ascend the Xijintai, but suddenly changed his mind. Perhaps he had learned the truth about the wood being swapped from Xu Tu and wanted to go to the capital to report the crime to the emperor. But this was discovered by the two Hes, who sent people to harm Xu Shubai and make it look like he had died under the Xijintai.”

Fudong said, “That’s right, Miss. I suspected the same thing.

“I have been wandering for half my life, treated as dirt under people’s feet, like a wisp of catkin in the wind. Only my teacher treated me with genuine kindness. Regardless of love, my teacher taught me poetry and books, hoping that I could live an upright life. Now that I am alone, with no family or friends, knowing that my teacher was harmed by those powerful people, I cannot let this matter go.

“I don’t have the same noble aspirations as my teacher, to expose the great crimes of the He father and son on my own, but I at least need to know where my teacher is and whether he was harmed.”

Fudong learned how to brew wine from a wine merchant and came to the capital under the guise of a widow. Hearing that the nobles and officials in the capital often held banquets at Donglaishun, she took over Zhezhiju and opened a wine shop. She intentionally got close to He Hongyun by delivering wine to Donglaishun.

He Hongyun had a private estate. Five years ago, Fuxia became seriously ill, and the estate hadn’t had a new beauty in a long time. Fudong was beautiful, and her twenty years of training in the art of seduction were not for nothing. He had a need, and she had a request. The two hit it off, and she disappeared from Zhezhiju overnight, changed her name to Fudong, and became the new courtesan at the Zhuning Estate.

Fudong’s eyes were now filled with tears. “I have told you everything I know, Miss. Since you have this swallow-shaped jade hairpin, you must have some clue about my teacher’s whereabouts. I hope...” She pursed her lips and bowed deeply to Qingwei. “I hope you will tell me no matter what...”

Qingwei quickly helped Fudong up.

She took out the jade hairpin that Xue Changxing had given her and Fudong’s broken hairpin and said truthfully, “I’m sorry, this jade hairpin was left to me by a senior. I don’t have any news about Master Xu. Before you mentioned him, I hadn’t even heard of this person. But don’t worry, when I find my senior, I will ask him about Master Xu’s whereabouts immediately.”

Fudong didn’t seem disappointed by this. She wiped away her tears and gave a faint smile. “Someone finding this jade hairpin is already very good news for me. I should be the one apologizing. That day at Zhezhiju, I didn’t know why He Hongyun was targeting you, Miss. I pretended to assassinate you to gain He Hongyun’s further trust. Please forgive me.”

Qingwei didn’t mind. She returned both jade hairpins to Fudong. “They are yours. You should keep them as a memento.”

Fudong looked at the hairpins, and her tears fell again. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve, said in a low voice, “Thank you,” and took out a brocade box to put the hairpins away.

Jiang Cizhou saw that her emotions had calmed down and asked, “In all the time you’ve been close to He Hongyun, have you found anything?”

Fudong thought carefully, then shook her head. “No. There is something strange, though. Although I suspect that it was the He father and son who embezzled the money from the wood price difference, five years ago, when the Xijintai was first being built, neither He Shiqing nor He Hongyun was in Lingchuan. He Shiqing was in the capital recuperating from an illness, and He Hongyun was in Ningzhou to treat the plague. He did a good job treating the plague, and I heard that he was even promoted afterward...”

Went to Ningzhou to treat the plague five years ago?

Qingwei was stunned. Just as she was about to ask for more details, she heard footsteps outside.

The patrol in the pavilion courtyard would make a round every fifteen minutes and check inside the rooms every half an hour.

It must be the patrol guards arriving again!

Fudong was alerted. She lifted the lampshade and was about to extinguish the candle.

Jiang Cizhou stopped her. “Don’t extinguish it!”

The light was just on a moment ago. Now that the guards had arrived, if the light was suddenly out, wouldn’t it be a dead giveaway?

But the room, though large, had no place to hide. How were they, two living people, supposed to hide?

Qingwei’s gaze fell on the round bed. She took three steps and rushed toward the bed, but Jiang Cizhou grabbed her waist, his voice low. “Over here.” He held her in his arms and leaped behind the bamboo screen to the bathtub. They both submerged themselves in the water.

The water had just become still when the door to the room was pushed open.

“It’s so late. Why is the light still on?”

“I had a nightmare... I didn’t dare to sleep...”

The voices of the patrol and Fudong came faintly through the water.

The bathtub was too small. Qingwei was underwater, pressed tightly against Jiang Cizhou’s chest. It was pitch black, and she couldn’t see anything.

Jiang Cizhou also felt cramped. Her back was too thin. Her shoulder blades were as thin as cicada wings, and he was afraid they would get scraped against the tub. So he had to wrap his arms around her in the dark water, placing his hand between her shoulder blades and the tub.

It was also uncomfortable beneath him. She had something tucked in her waist that was poking him.

Jiang Cizhou reached for her waist and felt a small pouch.

The pouch contained a hard object that seemed to be a small porcelain bottle.

They were so close, and there was so much friction. Qingwei was listening intently for the sounds in the room, so she didn’t notice when Jiang Cizhou took her pouch.

As soon as the drawstring of the pouch loosened, the porcelain bottle fell out. Jiang Cizhou reached out to grab it, but the cloth stopper had absorbed water and came off. The colorless and odorless light gray powder inside scattered into the water.

The markings on Qingwei’s left eye were drawn with a type of ocher powder that couldn’t be washed off with water or wine, only with this light gray powder.

The patrol guards checked the room and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, left quickly.

Qingwei held her breath to the extreme. When she heard the door close, she immediately stood up from the water, wiping the water from her face.

Jiang Cizhou also stepped out of the tub. After some thought, he turned to Qingwei and said, “We can’t stay here long. Let’s—”

He stopped mid-sentence, looking at Qingwei.

Fudong was bringing over some clean clothes. When she saw Qingwei’s face, she said in surprise, “Miss, you...”

Before she could finish, she caught Jiang Cizhou’s eye and immediately understood. She thought this might be a private matter between the couple, and it was not her place to say anything. So she changed her words. “Both you and the young master are wet. The autumn night is cold. I have some clean clothes here. Please change quickly.”

Qingwei nodded. “Thank you.” She came out of the bathtub and took the clothes from Fudong’s hands.

Jiang Cizhou’s clothes were specially prepared for the guests who stayed overnight at the estate. He changed quickly. His gaze fell on the small porcelain bottle in his hand. After some thought, he gradually understood and put the bottle in his bosom, waiting for Qingwei.

When Qingwei came out from behind the bamboo screen, Jiang Cizhou was stunned again.

She was wearing Fudong’s clothes, a simple white dress with a silk sash tied at her waist. Her hair, all wet, had come loose. She had dried it halfway and, fearing it looked messy, used a wooden hairpin to pin the hair back behind her head. One or two beads of water still clung to her clear cheeks.

Jiang Cizhou looked away and said to Fudong, “We came in a hurry tonight, and there are many details we couldn’t discuss. We’ll have to talk another time. I have another favor to ask of you, Miss Fudong.”

“Please, Young Master, tell me.”

Jiang Cizhou said, “To be honest, the reason I tried so hard to get close to you was to find the head courtesan of the Zhuning Estate from five years ago, Miss Fuxia. But the Fuxia Pavilion is full of traps, and I learned my lesson. I couldn’t risk going in again. Recently, the guards on the estate have been lax. Since you are here, could you help me find out something about her?”

Fudong said, “I will remember that, Young Master Jiang. Don’t worry, I will help you look for information.”

Qingwei finished pinning her hair and asked Jiang Cizhou, “Is your horse outside?”

Jiang Cizhou said “Mm.” He was a little surprised by her question. “Did you walk here?”

At this point, there was nothing to hide. Qingwei said in frustration, “My horse is kept outside. Not only is it far away, but it’s not well-tamed. I didn’t go see it yesterday, so it was hungry for two meals. Today, it was ignoring me. It ran halfway and then went to the roadside to eat grass and refused to move. It’s probably gone back on its own by now.”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have arrived a step later than him.

Qingwei felt that she shouldn’t ride Jiang Cizhou’s horse back for free. She asked Fudong, “Do you have a rope? A long piece of silk will also do.”

Fudong nodded and said she did. She brought a piece of silk and handed it to Qingwei. Qingwei thanked her, wrapped the silk around her wrist, pushed open the window, and threw it onto a high tree outside the pavilion. The silk wasn’t as strong as her soft jade sword, but it wasn’t for fighting. It was enough as long as it held.

Qingwei stood at the window, turned to Jiang Cizhou, and extended her hand. “Come, I’ll take you out of the estate.”

The night wind poured in through the window, making her hair and clothes flutter wildly. The moonlight was still, washing over her.

Jiang Cizhou looked at her for a long time, said nothing, walked over, and took her hand.

His martial arts were also good. With her leading him, it was almost effortless. With the silk as a bridge, they leaped from the eaves to the trees, making almost no sound. Once out of the estate, they quickly found Jiang Cizhou’s horse.

Jiang Cizhou was the first to mount the horse. He reached out and scooped Qingwei up, holding her in front of him. He helped her tidy her hair that had come loose behind her and spurred the horse toward the Jiang mansion.

After a long night, it was already dawn when they returned to the Jiang mansion. They didn’t use the front door, instead climbing over the wall into the back courtyard.

The room was still a mess. Liufang and Zhuyun hadn’t woken up yet, so no one had come to clean. Jiang Cizhou couldn’t stand the sight of it. He entered the room first and set the bamboo screen upright. He heard Qingwei also enter the room behind him, searching for something.

He turned and asked, “Are you looking for something?”

Qingwei didn’t answer.

The small porcelain bottle containing the light gray powder was gone. She didn’t know where she had lost it. She was never a careless person.

Qingwei couldn’t find it near the bed and then went to search through the fallen curtains on the floor.

Jiang Cizhou walked over and crouched down in front of her, watching her.

Qingwei felt his gaze for a while and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you looking at me?”

Jiang Cizhou didn’t answer. He just reached into his bosom in silence, took out what was inside, and placed it on the floor. “Are you looking for this?”

On the floor lay a small pouch and a small porcelain bottle. But the cloth stopper was missing, and the light gray powder inside... was also gone?