Chapter 136 Taking You Somewhere

Chapter 136: Taking You to a Place

Leaving the city, the two of them rode horses west into the mountains.

Though they called it the mountains, buildings and houses were visible nestled among the trees as far as the eye could see.

Qiu Heng followed Xue Han into a valley and stopped by a pool.

The pool was made of white jade, so clear you could see the bottom.

"Is this—" Qiu Heng reached out and stirred the water, then looked at Xue Han with a different expression. "A hot spring?"

Under that gaze, Xue Han suddenly felt awkward, like his thoughts had been seen through, but he didn't show it on his face: "Yeah, the water here is warm all year round. Some folks in the capital bought this land to build villas and come for short stays in winter."

"They sure know how to enjoy themselves," Qiu Heng remarked.

"This is also flowing water, so it should be like Qinglian Lake in easing the discomfort when Sixth Miss Qiu's old ailment flares up."

Qiu Heng was quiet for a moment, then broke into a bright smile: "Thank you, Official Xue, for thinking of me so much."

"Sixth Miss Qiu, you're too polite. This place is usually unused; if it can help you, that'd be great."

Tired of all the thank-yous, Qiu Heng got down to business: "What did you find out about Honored Consort Yu, Official Xue?"

"From what I've found so far, Honored Consort Yu has no grudge against the Lin family."

"No grudge, huh?" Qiu Heng murmured.

"As for Honored Consort Yu, I checked. Right Chancellor Yao Zhen once pissed off the current emperor by telling him not to indulge in pleasure with his consorts, and was later fired from his post. Other than that, no outside officials lost their jobs or got punished because of Honored Consort Yu. As for the inner palace—"

Xue Han handed Qiu Heng a letter: "A lot of things in the deep palace never come to light, and what you can find is limited. From what I got, some consorts and palace maids were punished by Honored Consort Yu not for big offenses, but more out of bad luck, running into her mood swings..."

Qiu Heng took the letter, opened it, and read it slowly. Like Xue Han said, it seemed Honored Consort Yu wasn't targeting anyone in particular, just acting on a whim.

Qiu Heng didn't insist that her suspicions were right. Since Honored Consort Yu didn't show any issues for now, she'd wait and see.

"About Master Changqing, the one Sixth Miss Qiu is looking for, once I've checked all the Taoist temples in the capital area, I'll let you know."

In Great Xia, Taoist priests had to hold official certificates issued by the government. To check info on Taoist priests in the capital area, the Ministry of Rites would have records.

Xue Han had used the excuse of searching for foreign spies to visit the Ministry of Rites and look over the relevant registers, but to avoid missing anything, he still needed to send people to check in person.

Laws are made by people, but there are always those who don't follow them; trusting the registers completely would be naive.

Qiu Heng thanked him again and suggested they head back.

As they parted, Xue Han hesitated before asking: "Tomorrow's the fifteenth. Isn't your old ailment, Sixth Miss Qiu, prone to acting up around this time?"

He'd been eager to take Qiu Heng to the valley hot spring precisely because tomorrow was the full moon.

"Not necessarily... Don't worry, Official Xue, I know my own body." Qiu Heng brushed it off and got into the carriage.

The wheels turned, the carriage moved forward, and suddenly the plain green curtain was lifted, revealing the girl's pretty face.

Xue Han was still there, holding his horse, standing in place.

The girl who'd looked back waved at him, and the carriage gradually faded away.

Fang Zhou, carrying a food box, waited halfway and stopped the carriage.

Uncle Zhang was confused: "Why didn't you leave with the sixth miss when you went out?"

Fang Zhou climbed into the carriage as she said, "I was making pastries at the time and couldn't get away."

Uncle Zhang shook his head.

These days, young maids were something else—making pastries came before serving their mistress.

"Uncle Zhang, have a taste." Before entering the carriage, Fang Zhou took out a serving of savory dumplings drizzled with sauce and handed them over.

Uncle Zhang had never eaten this southern snack, but it looked delicious, and after one bite, his eyes widened.

"Delicious, delicious!" Uncle Zhang gave the most straightforward praise, immediately understanding why making pastries was more important.

It was really tasty. As a coachman, being able to eat such a fine snack was all thanks to the sixth miss's kindness!

"I'll make other snacks for Uncle Zhang to try next time," Fang Zhou said cheerfully before entering the carriage.

The young lady often went out, and getting along well with the coachman would definitely make things easier.

"Miss, take a look."

Fang Zhou opened the food box, which had not only savory dumplings but also osmanthus cakes and ox-tongue pastries.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Has miss had lunch?"

Qiu Heng thought of the flatbread Xue Han had stuffed into her hands when they returned to the city and couldn't help but curl her lips: "I've eaten."

That flatbread was really dry, but luckily Xue Han had also given her water to drink.

Fang Zhou saw the smile on Qiu Heng's lips and relaxed: "Seems miss had a good lunch."

Qiu Heng paused but didn't argue: "Mm, it was pretty good."

Soon the carriage stopped; they had arrived at the Chancellor's residence.

Qiu Heng told Fang Zhou to stay in the carriage and entered the residence alone.

"Miss, Sixth Miss Qiu is here." A maid who had been keeping watch reported the news to Fang Rui.

After yesterday's incident, Fang Rui had no interest in inviting friends over to laugh at her today, nor did she want to provoke that crazy girl again.

Anyway, Qiu Liu's crime of letting her servants harm others would surely spread. She didn't believe such a reputation could lead to any future.

"Keep an eye on her. Don't let her cause any more trouble."

Qiu Heng smoothly met with Nanny Su and smiled at her: "Nanny Su, have you been waiting long? I've come to apply medicine for you."

Nanny Su, thinking of Fang Rui's instructions, forced a smile: "Thank you for the trouble, Sixth Miss Qiu."

In her mind, the young lady was still too concerned with face, letting such a wretched thing have a hold over her.

Nanny Su kept a straight face as Qiu Heng applied the medicine, then gave a reserved thanks.

"It's only right." Qiu Heng wiped her hands and placed the food box she had brought in front of Nanny Su. "My maid injured Nanny Su, and the more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel. I've brought some pastries from home for Nanny Su to try."

Nanny Su glanced at the food box, quickly suppressing the disdain in her eyes, and refused: "Sixth Miss Qiu is too kind. I don't care for sweet pastries."

Qiu Heng smiled. "What a coincidence," she said. "I brought three kinds of pastries today, and two of them are savory."

As she spoke, she opened the food box, laying out the pastries one by one: "Ox-tongue pastry, osmanthus cake, and fenjiao. The ox-tongue pastry and fenjiao are both savory. Have you ever tried fenjiao, Stewardess Su? It's a specialty from the south..."

Stewardess Su's gaze lingered on the plate of fenjiao, and she subtly pursed her lips.

As a respected stewardess in the prime minister's residence, she had tasted it all.

Fenjiao was indeed a southern pastry. The young master had enjoyed it, so after returning to the capital, he specially sought out a chef to make it. She thought the fenjiao that chef made was quite good too, but unfortunately, the young master didn't like it much.

Fenjiao—Stewardess Su vaguely recalled some unpleasant memories from her time in the south, but she no longer remembered what that ungrateful pastry chef looked like.

There were too many such matters and people to bother remembering them all.

Stewardess Su quickly dismissed this trivial recollection, refusing Qiu Heng again: "I just had lunch not long ago. I'm not hungry yet."

Qiu Heng's face fell with disappointment as she stared straight at Stewardess Su: "Stewardess Su, you won't eat. Are you still holding a grudge against me?"

Feeling uneasy under Qiu Heng's intense gaze, Stewardess Su reluctantly picked up a pastry, recalling Fang Rui's instructions.