"It was Young Master Sun who specifically asked for Miss Chai, and the madam had no choice in the matter. By the ti our people got there, Young Master Sun had just left, so we helped redeem Miss Chai and handed her over to Mister Chai."
Hong Wu’s tone grew increasingly helpless as she spoke, an unforeseen event they had not anticipated.
Who could have known that Sun Wenxing would venture into the Flower and Willow Alleys amidst the heavy snow, but this was also a lapse in their vigilance. With that thought, Hong Wu bowed her head and knelt on the ground, "Please, Master, punish ."
Yan Wanqing did not make a sound, her facial expressions indiscernible within the darkness.
Hong Wu, with her head lowered, trembled all over, and Piji was absolutely silent.
Having followed Yan Wanqing for so many years, they were too familiar with her every move. Her silence did not imply that she would let this matter slide.
Ti seed to pass before Yan Wanqing finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Mister Chai... how did he behave at that ti?"
Piji imdiately replied, "Mister Chai was quite agitated at the ti, but these past few days he has been very calm, as if he’s already recovered."
"Heh... recovered?" Yan Wanqing laughed softly.
Chai You and she were of the sa kind, either erupting in silence or perishing within it; she understood him all too well.
The present calm was just brewing a greater storm.
"Wait another three days, and if Chai You hasn’t co to see by then, give up. If he cannot be of use to , it will have to be a lifelong regret. That’s my fate; no one else is to bla."
After hearing the news about Chai You, Yan Wanqing felt even more exhausted, "If there’s nothing else, you can leave."
Piji hesitated, frowning, but decided to speak up.
"It concerns the Sixth Miss. I dared not delay reporting that she is collecting ’Thousand chanism’ at a high price in the black market. Given her special status, it’s better for the Master to be inford."
"Collecting Thousand chanism at a high price..." Yan Wanqing’s headache was splitting as she rembered the tearful expression of Yan Lingzhen saying she must cure her painting not so long ago, her heart stirred, softening a bit, "Don’t mind her, whatever she wants, send it to her right away."
Hong Wu and Piji imdiately agreed.
"Alright, leave now." Yan Wanqing waved her hand, and the room fell silent once more.
Sun Wenxing is the illegitimate son of the Great General of the Sun Family. He usually misbehaves and refuses to learn. I rember that two years ago when he committed a cri, Imperial Consort Sun decisively disowned him and exiled him to a distant land. I don’t know when he returned to the Capital City, but as soon as he did, he caused trouble, taking a life, and it was none other than Chai You’s sister.
She felt it necessary to have soone investigate how Sun Wenxing returned the next day.
The next morning brought a rare pause in the wind and snow.
After Yan Wanqing finished her breakfast, Piji returned.
She sent away her maidservants, sipped her dicinal broth, and listened to his report.
Sun Wenxing had only returned to the Capital City a few days ago, and his birth mother, the Sun Family’s aunt, had spent a considerable amount of silver taels.
"Judging by the ti, he must have entered with the elderly lady around the sa ti," Yan Wanqing narrowed her eyes as she calculated the days, "Is there a connection between these two, have you checked?"
Piji shook his head.
He hadn’t considered this angle as Sun Wenxing didn’t return with the elderly lady’s convoy.
"Who were Sun Wenxing’s companions that night?" Yan Wanqing inquired further.
This matter implicated the Sun Family, and it would inevitably involve her cousin, so she had to deal with it carefully, not overlooking any detail.
Piji had already thoroughly investigated this early on and had even made sketches, which he now took out to show to Yan Wanqing.
Yan Wanqing looked through the images of the n, all of them notorious scions of the Capital City. It was no wonder that they lingered in the Flower and Willow Alleys despite the city’s closure from heavy snowfall.
When she ca across a picture of an unfamiliar face, she raised her eyebrows slightly, "Who is this? He looks sowhat familiar," but she had never seen him before.
Piji replied, "This is the Master’s cousin."
Yan Wanqing’s beautiful eyebrows knitted together, "Is it the child of my second uncle’s family?"
"Yes."
There! The Yan Family has gotten involved now.
Yan Wanqing only felt darkness before her eyes.
"Commandery Princess, are you alright?" Piji, seeing her pale complexion, couldn’t help but worry.
Yan Wanqing reached out her hand to pick up the cup of dicine on the desk and drained it in one gulp, the bitterness numbing her senses; it took her a good while to find her voice, "What is my cousin’s child nad, and where is he now?"
"His na is Yan Minsheng. Since the incident that day, he hasn’t appeared again. It seems he must be hiding sowhere with Sun Wenxing."
Upon hearing this, Yan Wanqing scoffed coldly, "Hide? They killed soone and think they can hide at the ends of the earth? Cowards!"
What kind of person was Chai You? With a warm face and a cold heart, and deeply cunning by nature, he had a long mory for grievances.
It’s no wonder that in my past life when I sent Chai You a visiting card, he never agreed to et .
Personal vendettas might have been involved for a long ti.
"Send soone to keep an eye on my aunt, see what she has been up to lately." Yan Wanqing waved her hand, dismissing Piji. Currently, without the people in question, there was no way to proceed; otherwise, she would press these two wretches to kneel before Chai You and apologize.
To exchange two worthless people for Chai You’s loyalty, Yan Wanqing naturally knew how profitable this deal was.
The only uncertainty now was what Chai You was thinking.
Ti passed day by day, and before long the third day arrived.
It was already evening, and large snowflakes began falling from the sky. When she heard from Piji that Chai You had left ho to hold an umbrella over his sister’s grave and then disappeared at the city gate, her heart felt half-frozen.
It seed there was no hope.
Yan Wanqing stared out the window, the snow growing thicker and the sky becoming even more gloomy.
Her tone grew heavy with gloom, "What’s the situation with my aunt?"
"It has been snowing heavily these days, she hasn’t gone out." Piji replied, looking puzzlingly at Yan Wanqing, who kept her gaze fixed outside the window, until he could contain himself no longer, "Commandery Princess, what rit does Chai You have after all? He is nothing but trash who indulges in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. Why does he deserve so much of your attention?"
Yan Wanqing gave a bitter smile.
"The world only sees him as a libertine, but who is aware of the wild ambition hidden beneath that playboy shell. If Chai You can’t be made useful to us, nor can he stand against us. If it ever cos to that, I will spare no cost—" She cut herself off abruptly, a chill of deadly intent in the air.
She would never allow Chai You’s issue to hasten the downfall of both the Yan and Sun families.
"Enough, no more waiting." She retracted her gaze and slowly turned around.
Just then, Cong Ge knocked on the door from outside holding an umbrella, "Miss, soone has co asking to see you, insisting on it and refusing to leave."
Yan Wanqing’s heart leapt. She opened the door, "Where is the person?"
"Waiting in the front hall." As soon as Cong Ge finished speaking, she saw Yan Wanqing hurry outside, but she called out anxiously, "Miss, it’s very cold, and you’re not dressed warmly; at least wrap a cape around yourself..."
Her words were t with the sight of a garbed silhouette rushing into the snow.
When she arrived at the front hall, Yan Wanqing could see the person through the main door; it was Chai You.
Catching her breath as she entered, Chai You greeted her with a bow, "I apologize for disturbing the Commandery Princess on such a snowy day."
"Sir, please dispense with the formalities." She ordered the maids to bring hot tea, smiling at Chai You, "Please have a seat, Sir."
As they had just seated themselves, Cong Ge ca in from outside with the cloak, wrapping it around her as soon as she entered the door, and only then did Yan Wanqing feel a chill throughout her body.
Chai You, who had grown thinner over these days and whose lips were cracked from the cold, suddenly stood up and went down on his knees towards Yan Wanqing.
Yan Wanqing was montarily startled, "Why does Sir do this?"
"I only ask the Commandery Princess for one thing. Once this matter is settled, I shall devote myself to serving the Commandery Princess with the diligence of a dog or horse for the rest of my life!" As he spoke, he kowtowed three tis forcefully on the ground!
Reviews
All reviews (0)