“Childe Ling.”
Before Wang Dashan could give an answer, Xie Shi showed up, accompanied by Miao Shiba who was supposed to be in the city.
“I need to go back to the city to attend to something. Shiba is here to stand in for me.”
“Has anything happened?” Ling Zhang appeared apprehensive.
“Don’t worry, Childe Ling. Nothing happened. It’s just that Brother Shi is more experienced in handling some particular matters, so the Marshal wants Brother Shi to return. The Marshal will be occupied for another couple of days. He instructed me to tell you that everything is going as planned, that there’s nothing to concern yourself about,” said Miao Shiba.
Xie Shi’s strong point was detoxification skills, and Yuwen Tong’s recalling him definitely had something to do with this, but judging from Miao Shiba’s facial expression, he wasn’t lying. If Yuwen Tong was okay, then it must be someone else who was not okay.
“What is it about?” Ling Zhang still asked.
To his surprise, Miao Shiba replied very crisply, “It’s about people of the second branch. The Marshal is looking into some of Second Master’s deeds. He encountered a small problem and needs Brother Shi to come back to deal with it. The inquiry into this matter is the very reason why the marshal cannot come back right away.”
After hearing Miao Shiba give a sketchy account of what was going on, Ling Zhang came to understand the situation and was no longer worried.
Qiu Bing, who was the happiest to see Xie Shi leave, specially hurried over and said, “Young Master, I’ve been counting down the days. The poison inside Yuwen Qi will show its effect in three days. We can expect some entertainment.”
Ling Zhang, however, was alarmed at his words. Wouldn’t people of Yuwen Zhi’s branch of the family become suspicious of Xie Shi if he returned to the city on this occasion?
Miao Shiba was quite collected. “Don’t worry, Childe Ling. They don’t know that Xie Shi is a poison master.”
…
In Zheng shi’s chambers.
A gasp was heard.
The handmaid, doing Zheng shi’s hair, unintentionally gave the hair at Zheng shi’s temple a faintly painful pull, reducing Zheng shi to gasping with a grimace. The movement of the muscles of her recovering cheek exacerbated the pain, and she instantly flied into a temper and roughly pushed the handmaid away with a sweep of her arm. “Are you trying to kill me?! Drag her out!”
“Mistress! Mercy, Mistress! That was not intentional. Please have mercy on me. Don’t send me away. I’m begging you, Mistress!” pleaded the handmaid, slumping to her knees, panic-stricken.
Zheng shi remained indifferent. Soon two guards entered and dragged the handmaid out of the room. What lay in store for her was known to everybody.
Handmaids and servants, in and outside the room, hung their heads, not daring make the faintest sound. These days Zheng shi’s temper was growing increasingly violent, and she used them as her punching bags every time she lost it. This was not the worst, however. Their Second Young Master’s servants had been replaced again and again. Anyone of them who did or said anything not quite to his liking, no matter how insignificant it was in the sight of normal people, they would get a harsh scolding from their Second Young Master and then be evicted by the Mistress.
Zheng shi, after having her hair combed and her clothes changed, asked, “Where’s Master?”
“Master went to attend the court meeting and isn’t back yet.”
Zheng shi slightly furrowed her brows and went to see Yuwen Qi, followed by a handmaid.
Yuwen Qi, after being bagged and beaten up that day, was covered in bruises. He refused to let his handmaids apply ointment to them, and even the best physician was unable to convince him to be cooperative, so naturally he was making a recovery much slower than normal.
When Zheng shi arrived, Yuwen Qi had just chucked a handmaid off and was menacingly staring at somewhere. There was no telling what he was thinking.
“Qi’er, Mother came to see you. Are you feeling better?” said Zheng shi on entry.
Yuwen Qi looked at her. “Where’s Yaoyao?”
Zheng shi briefly paused in surprise and then said, “I think she’s in her own chambers. Why do you ask?”
“Tell her to come here to redress my wounds.”
Zheng shi, who had actually some time ago discerned that her son had a thing for Su Yaoyao, was not at all surprised by this sudden request and, heedless of whether or not Su Yaoyao would feel awkward, agreed, had a servant go to get Su Yaoyao, and then said to him, “Qi’er, were your uncle still alive, I wouldn’t really be against you marrying her, but your uncle has passed away, and no matter how good a girl Su Yaoyao is, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s now fatherless and depends on our family. If you marry her, she wouldn’t be of much help to you in the future. I suggest you take her as your concubine if you really like her so much. Mother will find you someone more suitable to be your legal wife.”
Yuwen Qi made no reply. It was hard to tell whether he was for or against his mother’s opinion.
When Su Yaoyao arrived and caught sight of Yuwen Qi, there was manifest fear on her face. Fully aware of how sulkily and violently Yuwen Qi had been conducting himself recently, she was very afraid that Yuwen Qi was going to vent his anger on her. “Aunt, Cousin.”
“Oh, Yaoyao. Come here. Help apply some ointment to your cousin’s bruises. Your cousin likes your very much. He misses you after not seeing your for merely a few moments,” said Zheng shi.
Su Yaoyao forced a smile. She was unmarried, and redressing Yuwen Qi’s wounds meant that she had to take off his robes, which would terribly compromise her reputation if word got out. “Aunt, I–I’m afraid it’s not very convenient for me to do that.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. There’s nothing inconvenient about it. This is your cousin, not an outsider. Besides, you two have always been on very good terms, haven’t you? It’s just administration of ointment. Sooner or later you’ll marry into our family,” observed Zheng shi.
Biting her lower lip, Su Yaoyao looked in the direction of Yuwen Qi but the coldness in his eyes gave her quite a start. Subconsciously, she relented. “Okay.”
While Su Yaoyao was applying ointment to Yuwen Qi’s bruises, Zheng shi was watching on the side. After Su Yaoyao finished redressing Yuwen Qi’s wounds and helped him get dressed, Yuwen Qi grabbed her wrist. After an unsuccessful attempt to free her hand, Su Yaoyao didn’t dare move. “Cou–Cousin?”
“You quite like that private bank, don’t you? It’ll be yours as well if you marry me. Does this cheer you up?” Yuwen Qi suddenly said in a gentle voice.
Su Yaoyao was sent into a brief trance of astonishment, and then a hint of joy appeared on her face. “Really?”
“Of course,” smiled Yuwen Qi, eyes on her. Su Yaoyao was fleetingly stupefied by his smile and forgot what he looked like when he was in one of his moods, bowing her head in timidity.
Zheng shi’s brow corrugated in a frown. What did he mean by saying it’d be hers? That was–
“Mother, Elder Brother still hasn’t ascertained who sent those men in black to intercept us that day?” Yuwen Qi’s question interrupted Zhen shi’s thinking.
Zheng shi’s was immediately shifted by her son’s words. With a displeased face, she replied, “I don’t know what he’s been doing. As Assistant Minister of Rites, he hasn’t found out anything about who assaulted his mother and brother after such a long time. Previously I thought he was pretty capable, but now it seems that he’s been getting more and more useless.”
“Has father found anything?” Yuwen Qi’s eyes had gone flinty.
Zheng shi said, “Your father stays in his study all the time except when his presence is requested in the imperial court. I asked him about it but he gave me a scolding instead of an answer. I have no idea what’s got into him.”
Zheng shi’s anger increased as she spoke, but no matter how angry she was, she didn’t dare confront her husband. Complaining in private was the only thing she could do.
“What about Yuwen Tong? Surely he has enough resources to track them down?” said Yuwen Qi through gritted teeth.
Zheng shi frowned, “He said that those men in black had disappeared into thin air, that the inquiry reached a dead end. His Majesty instructed the yamen and the garrison patrol to investigate, but nobody has reported any progress so far.”
Yuwen Qi fumed, “How’s that possible? Those men weren’t really kung fu experts. There’s no way they literally vanished without a trace. They’re just unwilling to look into it! Yuwen Tong is doing this on purpose. It must be him who’s at work!”
After hearing Yuwen Qi’s words, Zheng shi seemed to feel that he’d got a point and instantly started to curse. “That ungrateful bastard. No, I have to ask him and find out whether he’s been deliberately hampering the investigation, trying to make laughing stocks of us.”
Zheng shi’s furious talking placed too much strain on her recovering cheek and there was another spasm of pained gasp, which infuriated her even further. Accompanied by her handmaids, she stormed out of the room towards the residential area of the first branch of the family.
Yuwen Tong, after hearing that Zheng shi arrived with some handmaids, kept silent for quite a while and then said, “Let her in.”
Zheng shi, who had waited for quite some time before being allowed to enter, was consumed with fury. As she saw the uproarious atmosphere in this place with numerous servants who were going in and out of every house making preparations for the wedding, her insides ached for ire, but when her eyes fell on Yuwen Tong who was emanating an alarmingly powerful air, she was intimidated and didn’t dare take it out on him. In a bitter voice heavy with sarcasm, she said, “It’s not that Aunt wants to criticize you, but your servants are really uncouth. They saw me coming, but instead of giving me a proper welcome, they stopped me from entering. They’re so unruly. You might as well break their legs and arms and throw them out of this place. Such ignorant pariahs are no nothing but a bunch of eyesores if you let them stay here as servants.”
Yuwen Tong disregarded her insinuation. “What is it you want to see me about, Aunt? I think we’re not on speaking terms any more, are we?”
Zheng shi was briefly rendered speechless by this blunt remark of his. Secretly twisting her handkerchief, she said, “I’m here to ask why after such a long time you still haven’t ascertained the identities of those goddamn thugs that assaulted me and your cousin. You’re a marshal of the Great Yue. How could you not have had it properly handled already? It’d be an absolute disgrace to the Yuwen family if word gets out.”
“How about you give me a more detailed account of what happened that day, Aunt? How those people showed up, what they said, how they struck you, how hard their blows were, which parts of you they hit, etc. So I may follow these clues and conduct another search.”
“You–”
Zheng shi was nearly enraged to death by Yuwen Tong’s words. “Why are you doing this? I’m asking you to hunt those sons of bitches down, and you chose to humiliate me?”
“Which part of my words do you find humiliating, Aunt? I told you the investigation hit a dead end, but you insisted I continue, so I had no choice but to ask you for more details and see if I could find any possible leads. You came to me for help. Don’t you think you should be more cooperative? If you feel I’m humiliating you, you might as well go back right away. As for the inquiry, there’s nothing else I can do, and nothing you say will make a difference.”
“You! How dare you behave like this, Yuwen Tong? You think just because we’ve broken up the family to live apart, you get to treat me like dirt? You wait and see! I’ll have your true colors come to the knowledge of everybody in this country! You have no respect for your elders, nor brotherly love for your cousin. How do you have the nerve to call yourself a marshal?!”
Insides burning with indignation, Zheng shi stormed off, followed by her handmaids.
“Am I to do anything about this, Marshal?” Yao Yi was worried.
“Just keep a close watch on her. If she wants to do anything, report to me immediately,” said Yuwen Tong.
“Yes, Marshal,” answered Yao Yi.
Zheng shi and her handmaids returned to the residential area of the second branch of the Yuwen family. She had no sooner crossed the boundary than a servant walked over and said, “Here’s a letter for you, Mistress.”
Zheng shi, who had just had a very unpleasant talk and was filled with wrath, was only too anxious to find a punching bag and immediately spat, “Are you blind? Why on earth should I waste my time reading some nobody’s letter? If you can’t find better use for your eyes, I’ll take them. Guards, gouge his eyes out!”
“Mercy, Mistress.” The servant hastily sank to his knees. “The one who delivered this letter here said that he came here to help you out, that he could not only heal Second Young Master’s broken legs but also ascertain the identities of those men in black, that all you have to do is read the letter. I risked bringing this letter to you for your and Second Young Master’s sake. Please take this into consideration, Mistress.”
Zheng shi gave him a searching look. “He really said that?”
“Yes. I don’t dare lie to you, Mistress.” The servant hurriedly gave her a guarantee.
Zheng shi motioned to the handmaid beside her, who took the letter and then guided Zheng shi to a quiet spot to sit down.
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