180 – Commandery Prince Mu and the Young Marquis

Qin Mian was astounded. Du Shi’s dead? Who’d have attacked a woman of the inner chambers?

“Your Majesty, [I] beg your forgiveness [to leave].” Lei Tie looked at Emperor Xiaohui.

Emperor Xiaohui’s eyes were gloomy. He was also thinking about who would attack Du Shi. In the eyes of the emperor, Du Shi was not only a woman of the inner chambers but also “the mother of the State Defender Duke”. He could not help suspecting that there was something else behind Du Shi’s murder. He did not doubt Lei Tie. If Lei Tie wanted to attack Du Shi, he would not wait until now.

“En, my dear subject Lei shall be excused.”

Qin Ruiqi sensibly said, “Ruiqi and Ruilin will come to see Uncle Emperor some other day.”

Emperor Xiaohui said with a smile, “Alright.”

After Qin Mian’s group of four asked for forgiveness, they left with White Spot and Golden Fur.

Princess Duanning regretfully watched White Spot and Golden Fur go away. Golden Fur seemed simple and honest while carrying cuteness. She had wanted to be close to it.

“A-He, stay in the Palace for lunch today. You haven’t been in the Palace for a long time, accompany Zhen for a good chat,” said Emperor Xiaohui to Zhangsun He.

Zhangsun He naturally agreed, “Obedience is better than politeness.”

The empress dowager, the empress, and Princess Duanning saw that the men had something to say, so they made excuses to leave.

Princess Duanning walked along the cobblestone path with her senior palace maid and six junior maids. Her eyes flitted past the colorful flowers. She was in a good mood and her steps were light. Just as she passed by the moon-shaped gate, she saw her eldest imperial sister, Yanqing, standing there with a gloomy face, just like a ghost. She was so frightened her heart almost jumped out.

“Why are you here alone, Eldest Imperial Sister?” Princess Duanning didn’t like this eldest imperial sister, but she had to smile at her for the Imperial Clan’s propriety.

Princess Yanqing coldly curved the corner of her lips and raised her chin, “Imperial Father summoned State Defender Duke’s family and actually let you be present. Did they want to marry you to State Defender Duke? Right now, you must have felt complacent, right?”

Princess Duanning laughed angrily and sweetly. She took Princess Yanqing’s arm and said, “Eldest Imperial Sister~~ do you think this Imperial Sister doesn’t care about reputation like you? This Imperial Sister is a person of noble birth and has an honorable identity. Whatever kind of husband [I] want to find, [I] won’t lean toward shamelessly getting involved in other people’s marriage? Eldest Imperial Sister~~ you have treated this Imperial Sister unjustly.” Every word was satirizing Princess Yanqing. After she said that, she even stamped her foot in a grievance.

Like master, like servants. The palace maids behind her were not afraid of Princess Yanqing. They all lowered their heads and pursed their lips as they snickered.

Princess Yanqing was so angry that her eyes seemed to be bursting with fire.

“Duanning, you impudent!”

Princess Duanning released her arm. She pursed her mouth and blinked her eyes, fanning her long and curly eyelashes. Playful and cute, the sound of her laughter was as clear as a silver bell. “Is Eldest Imperial Sister confused? This Imperial Sister and you are of the same rank. What ‘impudent’ are you talking about?”

She looked up at the sky and said, “Oh my, the sun today is really poisonous. This Imperial Sister has to go back earlier to avoid sunburn. Eldest Imperial Sister, this Imperial Sister I will leave first.”

Princess Duanning curtseyed and went off with a swagger. After two steps, she turned back. “Oh, forgot to tell Eldest Imperial Sister. Imperial Grandmother and Imperial Mother have used the beauty cream sent by Lady of the State Defender Duke. The result was remarkable. If Eldest Imperial Sister needs it, this Imperial Sister I can go to Imperial Grandmother and Imperial Mother to ask them to spare a jar to give Eldest Imperial Sister. If it’s not maintained properly, it’ll be too late. This Imperial Sister leaves first!”

Fury broiled endlessly in Princess Yanqing’s chest, which then exhausted all of her strength. Princess Yanqing could only support herself on the wall weakly. The hatred in her eyes was mixed with strong unwillingness. However, when she thought of Qin Mian’s means, she turned pale and could only stamp her foot and fling her sleeve.

In the quadrangle pavilion, the breeze was gentle and the tea fragrance was faint.

“A-He, who do you think has attacked the State Defender Duke’s mother?” asked Emperor Xiaohui.

Zhangsun He said with a smile, “Isn’t brother-in-law aware that I’ve never cared about these things? Today is just a coincidence.”

How could Emperor Xiaohui not notice his avoidance? He slightly shook his head and gave a faint smile with a hint of tolerance. Back then, a war broke out between the State of Great Xia and Western Barbarian. The soldiers of Great Xia suffered heavy casualties. The highly-skilled doctor Zeng Shuyi couldn’t bear it and went to the battlefield at the age of 70 to heal the soldiers of Great Xia. He even used strange medicine to save the commanding general Huang who had only a thread of life left. Doctor Zeng was famous all over the country for his righteousness. He stayed on the battlefield for three years and eventually died of overwork. It wasn’t long before there was a rumor among the people that Doctor Zeng saved General Huang with a Qingli pill¹ and gave the last Qingli pill to a predestined person before he died.

What was the Qingli pill? According to historical records, more than 200 years ago, Wei Lianzhi, a famous contemporary doctor, used a Qingli pill to save the life of the old emperor whose body was inflicted with a strange poison. In order to thank Wei Lianzhi, the emperor especially married down² a princess to Wei Lianzhi’s son. But later, unknown of what misfortune had happened, the prescription of the Qingli pill was lost. Over time, more doctors tended to think that the Qingli pill only existed in legends. After all, the saying “can solve any strange poison” was too incredible.

However, eight years ago, Zhangsun He unexpectedly got a Qingli pill. Zhangsun He went all the way to find the military doctor who had treated General Huang together with Doctor Zeng and confirmed that the Qingli pill had the miraculous effect of detoxifying hundreds of poisons. Therefore, he presented it to Emperor Xiaohui. It was no wonder that Emperor Xiaohui extremely trusted Zhangsun He.

Back then, the reason why Lei Tie dared to take out the precious Qingli pill was that folk legend confirmed that there was only one Qingli pill. If the white-clothed man really knew what Qingli pill was, he would have heard of this legend, and naturally would not insist Lei Tie, a rural villager, to give him more Qingli pills.

Zhangsun He and Emperor Xiaohui both only knew today that the current State Defender Duke was the original owner of the Qingli pill.

Emperor Xiaohui thought that since the highly-skilled Doctor Zeng was willing to save General Huang with a Qingli pill, it was not surprising that he gave the other Qingli pill to another general. Back then, he was still a bit resentful toward Zeng Shuyi. He was the emperor and had supreme status. Yet, Zeng Shuyi did not present the treasure to him, but gave it to some “predestined person”. Unexpectedly, with twists and turns, the Qingli pill still fell into his hands.

Emperor Xiaohui changed the topic, “Are you and Mufeng still in trouble?”

Zhangsun He’s face first showed a little smile, but also showed a bit of exasperation, “Yesterday, it was Mufeng who picked up Minzhi after school. Nevertheless, Imperial Prince Ming is still unrelenting.”

“You are both the people Zhen cares about. Zhen isn’t in the position to take care of your affairs.” Emperor Xiaohui shook his head with a helpless expression. Chen Mufeng and Zhangsun He – one was the younger generation of the Imperial Clan and the other was the Maternal Uncle of the State. Both were Emperor Xiaohui’s taboo people, so the two men mingled together was in line with his intention. Zhangsun He already had an offspring, but Mufeng had not. That was why, Imperial Prince Ming never let go of their affairs and made a request that unless Chen Mufeng had an offspring, he would agree to Chen Mufeng and Zhangsun He to be together. But Zhangsun He disagreed to let Chen Mufeng get involved with women. Therefore, the three were still in a deadlock and it seemed that they would continue to be in a deadlock for a long time. Emperor Xiaohui didn’t care about these details. He just wanted to make sure that Chen Mufeng and Zhangsun He were no threat to him.

Meanwhile, Qin Mian and Lei Tie went back to the State Defender Duke Establishment directly after leaving the Palace. As expected, Steward Fu came to report that Lei Xiangzhi had come to inform of the funeral. When he learned that their family had entered the Palace, he left in a hurry.

After Qin Mian’s family of four changed into plain clothes, they got on the carriage and went to Lei Xiangzhi’s home.

On the way, the couple communicated in mind.

“A-Tie, what do you think went wrong?” asked Qin Mian. Generally speaking, Du Shi had only herself to blame. Originally, when ten days came, Lei Tie would have her released. But Du Shi was used to arrogance. For her ten days in prison, Lei Xiangzhi spent money on the prison guards. Although the living condition wasn’t good, she had good food and drink. Thereby, Du Shi thought that Lei Tie was not enough to be afraid of. Every day, when she had eaten to her fill, she started to curse Lei Tie. She also said that when she went out, she wanted Lei Tie’s family of four to be humiliated. When Lei Tie learned of this, he prolonged Du Shi’s prison time and forbid Lei Xiangzhi to help her. Du Shi suffered a lot and realized that it was not good. She had been well-behaved and was killed not long after she was released from prison. If she had not hurled curses and threatened Lei Tie’s family and left the prison as soon as the ten-day deadline arrived, she might have escaped the disaster.

Lei Tie said, “It should be aimed at me.”

Qin Mian nodded, “I feel the same way. The other party’s purpose is probably to stir up the relationship between you and Fifth Brother. The ultimate purpose is to deal with you. But what I can’t figure out is, why would they provoke your relationship? Fifth Brother is just a fifth rank official, not enough to pose a threat against you.”

“I don’t care.” Lei Tie’s eyes were filled with cold light, “However, if someone dares to attack you, Ruiqi, and Ruilin, I’ll make his life worse than death!”

Qin Mian narrowed his eyes and said in a heavy tone, “Emperor Xiaohui might know.” He always felt that Emperor Xiaohui was playing a big game of chess.

At the entrance of Lei Xiangzhi’s residence, white silks had been hung on the gate. The spirit tablet must have been arranged inside and there were faint bursts of crying.

Qin Mian’s group of four was about to enter when they were stopped by the servant of Lei Xiangzhi’s residence.

Qin Mian and Lei Tie did not insist on getting in. Firstly, they were unwilling to worship Du Shi on bent knees. Secondly, since Lei Tie sent Du Shi to prison, almost all the people in the Capital knew that State Defender Duke and his stepmother were at odds with each other. If they insisted on going in to kowtow, they would make people feel that they were pretending. So why bother.

Qin Mian and Lei Tie led the two children to bow three times in the direction of the house and be done with it.

Qin Ruiqi and Lei Ruilin never enjoyed Du Shi’s care and affection. They didn’t have the slightest feeling about Du Shi’s death and merely didn’t like the glaring white silks hanging all over the places.

The family got on the carriage and went back to the State Defender Duke Establishment.

Lei Tie changed his clothes and went out to investigate the murder of Du Shi. At home, Qin Mian cared for the two children’s studies and taught them a modern curriculum.

That night, when the couple was asleep, the door was suddenly knocked by the servant.

Lei Tie got up to open the door. After a moment, he came back with a sealed letter.

“What’s wrong again?” Qin Mian was speechless. Since arriving in the Capital, there had not been any good things.

Lei Tie said, “It’s from the servant of Fifth Brother’s residence.”

Qin Mian’s interest perked up and he leaned on Lei Tie’s arm to read the letter together.

The letter was indeed written by Lei Xiangzhi. The content was very rational. Lei Xiangzhi believed that Lei Tie didn’t have a hand in Du Shi’s death and neither did he blame Lei Tie. He admitted that he was partly responsible for Du Shi’s death. In the letter, Lei Xiangzhi also analyzed the purpose of the person behind the scene. Like Qin Mian, he thought that the purpose of the person behind the scene was to stir up the relationship between him and Lei Tie. Lei Xiangzhi suggested that the two brothers fall out with each other, hoping to find out the real murderer and avenge Du Shi.

The letter from Lei Xiangzhi made Qin Mian feel unusual. He turned over and hugged Lei Tie, “Sleep. Big things have to wait until tomorrow.”

Footnotes