QYT - 39

He Hongyun asked, “Then who do you think she is?”

“I can’t guess,” Liu Chang said. “These are just my conjectures. The truth still needs to be thoroughly investigated.”

“Forget it,” He Hongyun said. “Her identity is hidden so well that there must be some powerful person helping her in the shadows. It’s not something that can be figured out in a short time. Send a few people to her hometown to ask around, but don’t spend all your energy on it.”

“Yes.”

He Hongyun passed through the decorated gate and entered his courtyard. He sat down at the head seat in the main hall, took the tea bowl offered by a servant, and idly moved the lid. “Finding Fuxia...”

This Cui Qingwei, first she broke into the Fuxia Pavilion, and then she contacted Fudong, asking her to inquire about Fuxia. It seemed she was determined to not let him go.

So be it. Since she and Xie Rongyu were a fake couple, if he found a clean way to get rid of her, would Xie Rongyu really go to the main hall of the palace to make a fuss about it?

Besides, the Black Hawk Agency was a mess. Wei Jue and Zhang Luzhi clearly didn’t obey their new commander, and Xie Rongyu hadn’t revealed his identity at all. Now was the best time to act.

He just needed to find a way to lure Cui Qingwei over.

He Hongyun set the tea bowl down beside him. “Fudong wants to see Fuxia, doesn’t she? Let her.”

“Fourth Young Master, you mean let Fudong go to the secret dungeon?” Liu Chang was stunned. “But Fuxia is still holding on to the account books from the medicinal herb deal. Once she reveals the whereabouts of the account books to Fudong, it’s one more person who knows, and one more risk. I think it’s okay to let her meet, but we should find a random courtesan to impersonate her...”

“Impersonate her? Many people know what Fuxia looks like. If Fudong doesn’t see the real person, how will Cui Qingwei be willing to come to the estate? You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. Besides, the person is half-mad already. You can just have someone watch from the side and keep her from talking too much,” He Hongyun’s voice was leisurely. “After Fudong sees Fuxia, she will be of no use. When she brings Cui Qingwei here, you can throw Mei Niang into the dungeon with them, and the three of them together—”

He Hongyun made a slicing gesture with his fingers.

Liu Chang bowed and said yes. “Your subordinate understands. I will go and handle it now.”

________________________________________

“Did you get it right?”

Qingwei wrapped the rope around her hand and threw it toward the opposite eaves. She pulled it back and, seeing that it was secure, leaped. The autumn wind swelled her clothes, and she was like a bird soaring through the air. The next moment, she landed on the eaves without a sound.

Chaotian nodded. He gripped the rope in his hand, the words Qingwei had just taught him echoing in his mind: “If you want to use it, you have to believe in it. You have to imagine it as a tangible thing.”

He took a few steps back and threw his rope toward the eaves. He used the rope to leap onto the rooftop. There was autumn frost on the eaves, and he slipped a few steps when he landed but quickly stabilized himself with the rope.

Qingwei nodded. “You have good comprehension.”

Chaotian was happy to be praised. He was about to try again when Jiang Cizhou and Derong came from the corridor. Seeing Chaotian standing on the rooftop, Derong called out, “Tian’er, what are you doing?”

Chaotian jumped down. “I’ve been reflecting. My martial arts are too rigid. If I don’t face a direct battle with swords and spears, I’m at a disadvantage. The young madam’s agility is excellent, so I’m asking her for some pointers.”

He was a simple-minded person. The last time he got Qingwei into trouble at the Zhuning Estate, he felt guilty. After some thought, he decided it was because his agility was not good enough to make a clean escape, so he came to Qingwei to ask for extra training.

Jiang Cizhou glanced at Qingwei, who was still standing on the eaves. He said to Chaotian, “You are a military guard, not a thief. Do I usually give you tasks that involve robbery? Why are you learning so many soft skills?”

“The young master’s lesson is noted. It’s just that your subordinate feels—”

“Soft skills are no fun, but being straightforward is?” Qingwei put away her rope and came down from the roof beam. Jiang Cizhou’s words might have had no particular meaning, but Qingwei took offense. “I just became a thief, and now I’m a righteous gentleman again. What’s the meaning of holding on to the old ways and keeping me confined to the mansion? If we keep waiting like this, the day will pass us by.”

Jiang Cizhou said, “Since my lady likes to climb rooftops and scale walls so much, the mansion has seventeen eaves and thirty-nine walls. You can scale them to your heart’s content. If that’s not enough, there’s a Star-Plucking Tower about twenty miles outside the capital. With your skills, you can fly to the top to pluck the moon in half a cup of tea. Shall I take you?”

Qingwei sneered. “No thanks. It takes at least two hours to go out of the city and back. Me plucking the moon is a small matter, but delaying the young master from his banquet at Donglaishun is a big one. You’ve been waiting for so long without any success. If you blame me for scaring the rabbit away while I was plucking the moon and confine me for another seven days, I won’t have the patience for it.”

Derong was baffled, listening to the couple’s back-and-forth. He asked Liufang and Zhuyun, who were standing next to him, “What’s wrong with the young master and young madam? Weren’t they fine yesterday?”

Liufang and Zhuyun exchanged glances and secretly smiled. Liufang said, “The young madam wanted to go out last night, but the young master wouldn’t let her.”

Zhuyun said, “The young madam snuck out last night but was caught by the young master halfway and brought back. The young madam is unhappy, and they were at it all night...”

Derong understood.

This wasn’t the first time the young madam and young master had been in a quarrel. He had seen them fight more fiercely than this. But no matter how bad it got, they always became intimate afterward. No wonder Liufang and Zhuyun were secretly smiling.

Derong didn’t pay any more attention to it and waved to Chaotian. “Tian’er, come see what the young master brought you.”

Chaotian then noticed the long box leaning against the wall. He walked over in a few quick steps. “Is this... a new saber the young master had made for me?”

Qingwei also noticed the wooden box. She was too lazy to pay attention to Jiang Cizhou anymore. Earlier, Jiang Cizhou had said that He Hongyun would set a trap again and they just needed to wait for Fudong to come looking for them. But she had gone with him to banquets at Donglaishun for seven days and hadn’t even seen a shadow of Fudong.

She didn’t like being so passive. She kept thinking about going out to get some more information. Even if she didn’t go to the Zhuning Estate, the Capital Prefecture or the Dali Temple would be fine. Who knew that last night, she hadn’t even made it out of the alley before Jiang Cizhou stopped her on the way back and told her to wait a little longer.

It had been almost six years since she left home, and she had never lived such a peaceful life.

All she did was go to banquets at Donglaishun, practice martial arts, and get a good night’s sleep. She wasn’t used to it. The more peaceful it was, the more panicked she felt. She wanted to sleep with a dagger under her pillow, but Jiang Cizhou kept making her wait patiently.

Qingwei took the long box. “Let me see.”

Inside the box was a ring-handled saber. The blade gleamed like water, and its edge was intimidating.

Qingwei held it and tried it out. It was a little heavy for her, but it was just right for someone like Chaotian who was used to a blunt saber. It was clear that Jiang Cizhou had put thought into it.

“A good saber,” Qingwei said, tossing the saber to Chaotian.

Chaotian caught it in mid-air and was about to thank him when Jiang Zhunian walked into the courtyard with a serious expression.

He hadn’t even entered the courtyard yet when he saw some ropes hanging on the old tree and a plum blossom pile beneath it. When he walked into the courtyard, he looked up and saw a steel saber flying through the air.

Jiang Zhunian pointed at the western courtyard wall. “Tomorrow, hire some craftsmen. We should just tear down this wall and build a martial arts training ground. This small space isn’t enough for you to mess around in. You can also recruit some apprentices and build a school. Wouldn’t that be more impressive?”

Although Qingwei was usually an independent person, Jiang Zhunian was still an elder. Hearing his scolding, she hid the rope behind her back, stood still, and said nothing.

Jiang Zhunian then pointed at Jiang Cizhou. “And you, you took leave for your wedding, then leave for your illness, and now you’ve submitted a letter of apology. The emperor has been considerate and told you to recover before you return to work. Are you really going to push your luck and not go to the yamen for a single day?”

Jiang Cizhou said, “Father is right to scold me. I’ll go back in a few days after I’ve rested up.”

Jiang Zhunian’s face was stern. He looked at both him and Qingwei. Although his son was not his biological son, Jiang Zhunian was a close friend of the imperial son-in-law from back then. Even without the Young Prince Zhao wearing this mask, he would have treated him as his own.

Initially, when the Young Prince Zhao said he wanted to use the marriage contract to marry the Cui family daughter to protect the Cui family, Jiang Zhunian disagreed. He felt he was being too hard on himself and tried to stop him in every way, but in the end, he couldn’t win.

Now that the person was married, and although this Cui family daughter was not that Cui family daughter, the young couple seemed to be affectionate, so he didn’t say much more. But now, looking at this chaotic courtyard, what was he supposed to say?

There was a layer of separation, so Jiang Zhunian found it difficult to scold them too much. He waved to Jiang Cizhou. “Come here.”

Jiang Cizhou nodded and walked up to Jiang Zhunian. Jiang Zhunian hesitated for a moment, then, considering that Qingwei’s hearing was excellent, he walked all the way to the corner of the corridor before turning back and whispering to Jiang Cizhou, “I planted a patch of Xiangfei bamboo in the back courtyard. One of them was cut down. Do you know who did it?”

“Cut down?” Jiang Cizhou was stunned. “I don’t know.”

He then asked, “When was it cut down?”

Jiang Zhunian said, “Didn’t I go to Qingming Prefecture for business? I found out it was cut when I came back.”

During the days Jiang Zhunian was away on business, Jiang Cizhou was just recuperating in the palace. The only head of the household in the mansion was Qingwei.

Jiang Zhunian looked over Jiang Cizhou’s shoulder and into the courtyard. “Could it be... your wife did it?”

“I don’t think so. Why would she cut your bamboo for no reason?” Jiang Cizhou followed Jiang Zhunian’s gaze and also looked into the courtyard. Qingwei was still standing there, behaving herself. Perhaps knowing that they hadn’t gone far, she stood poker-straight with her hands behind her back. Jiang Cizhou looked away. “I’ll ask her later.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Jiang Zhunian nodded. “Just ask for the reason. If it was really her, then it’s cut. She used to live under other people’s roofs. When you ask, be gentle. Don’t treat her like an outsider. Don’t scare her.”

As soon as Jiang Zhunian left, Derong quickly got the carriage ready.

Although Qingwei was anxious, she actually agreed with Jiang Cizhou—once He Hongyun’s house arrest was lifted, he would definitely set a trap again. At that time, Fudong would surely come looking for them at Donglaishun. They just had to wait patiently.

The carriage took a familiar route to the restaurant. As Jiang Cizhou lifted the curtain, the shopkeeper was already outside to greet them. “Young Master Jiang and the young madam have arrived.”

Jiang Cizhou took the shopkeeper’s hand to get out of the carriage and turned back to help Qingwei. “Are the dishes ready?”

“The usual, Yulaixian, roasted goose, Qiulubai, and a few other meat and vegetable dishes. It’s enough to satisfy your hunger,” the shopkeeper said, leading them to the Fengya Stream private room with a smile. “And Young Master Jiang has a great treat today.”

Jiang Cizhou asked, “What do you mean?”

The shopkeeper stopped at the entrance of the Fengya Stream and glanced at Qingwei. “Miss Fudong from the Zhuning Estate is here. She said she wanted to apologize for the incident at Zhezhiju and brought dishes and her personally brewed wine from the Zhuning Estate. She arrived when we opened this morning and has been waiting inside all this time.”