Chapter 187: Clarifying the Truth (3)

Chapter 187: Clarifying the Truth (3)

Over a dozen days later, at the memorial tombs on the outskirts of the city.

It had been raining heavily over Xiaoxiang Prefecture for several days straight. Merchant ships and ferries on the Fengwu River had all stopped running. The pink, cloud-like snowball flowers drooped, battered by the rain. The drizzle hadn't let up, and the whole prefecture was wrapped in a hazy mist.

Qin Jiao held up an umbrella and raised his hand. Cool raindrops swirled around his fingertips before the wind whisked them away.

Xiao Baiyu and He Zhao stood not far away. The three women bitten by Sharp-crested Snakes at the inn had fully recovered and were now gathered around Xiao Baiyu, thanking him. The women were beautiful and kind-hearted, and they even said the flashy purple-red silk umbrella in He Zhao's hand was especially pretty.

That had He Zhao so thrilled he nearly spun in place like a peacock and bowled over a bunch of people. Luckily, Xiao Baiyu grabbed him before he could cause a scene.

The Ministry of Works moved fast. Despite the downpours, the dozen-plus memorial tombs converted from infant towers were finished on time, and the court's newly appointed prefect had also arrived yesterday.

As for the old prefect Guan Jiu—the night Xie Ji'an killed himself, Shen Fuqing tossed him, along with the Cnidium-monkshood sachets he and Luo Bei had recovered, out on the city's outskirts. When they checked the next day, Guan Jiu was dead, his body so covered in Sharp-crested Snake bites there wasn't a patch of good skin left.

Back then, Chief Steward Qu had said Shen Fuqing was too heavy-handed. Guan Jiu was, after all, a court-appointed official. No matter how furious Shen Fuqing was, he should've waited for an imperial decree, or he'd risk censure and impeachment from the censors later.

But Shen Fuqing couldn't give a damn about that. He even wanted to whip Xie Ji'an's corpse. Luckily, Xie Nai stopped him that night at the prefect's office—otherwise, Chief Steward Qu would've had to haul Xie Ji'an's pulverized corpse back to the capital the next day.

Xie Nai stopping Shen Fuqing from mutilating the corpse caused a small rift between them. Those days, Shen Fuqing was sore at everyone he saw. When Zhang Fei came to pick up his "undercover pay," he was so jittery he worried Shen Fuqing might stab a few holes in him.

Luckily, Shen Fuqing's aggression was mostly aimed outward—at the wicked.

For example, Wang Ge.

After Xie Ji'an died, folks from the Court of Judicial Review and the Shadow Guards Xie Xuanran sent also showed up in Xiaoxiang Prefecture. Shen Fuqing split them into two teams: the Court folks stayed at the office to sort papers and organize evidence, while the rest of the Shadow Guards and some Lingnan Army soldiers went door to door hunting for Sharp-crested Snakes.

Luo Yue said that one day Shen Fuqing led a search himself, and wouldn't you know it, they hit Hu Yuyun's place. And wouldn't you know it, the half-paralyzed Wang Ge was right then cursing at and beating Hu Yuyun.

By then, Cong Shuang had already given Hu Yuyun's daughter Ni'er back to her. In the dim, rundown house, with thunder and lightning crashing outside, Hu Yuyun just sat there clutching her kid, silent and lost in thought.

Luo Yue painted the scene: Shen Fuqing gave a cold laugh, and right then a lightning bolt cracked, lighting up Lord Shen's grim, vicious face. Like a demon from the eighteenth level of hell, he strolled over to Wang Ge and, faster than lightning, finished him off with one slash...

Hu Yuyun's oldest boy, Wang Lin, had almost been cured by Xiao Baiyu, but Shen Fuqing scared him so bad he went blank and vacant again.

Good thing Xiao Baiyu was a real miracle doctor. He quickly prescribed a new sedative for Wang Lin and settled him down. The neighbors, feeling for Hu Yuyun, chipped in money and supplies, and the authorities promised to keep an eye on her going forward.

Hu Yuyun was so grateful she broke down sobbing. Later, when Li Nanli was getting ready to head back to the capital, Hu Yuyun brought her daughter to see her off. The little girl clutched the jade Buddha pendant and wailed her heart out. Li Nanli couldn't stand it, so right then and there she took Hu Yuyun's daughter as her goddaughter.

Qin Jiao and He Zhao happened to be there. He Zhao said the kid was crying so hard—maybe Li Nanli and Hu Yuyun's daughter were really meant to be.

Qin Jiao sighed inwardly but didn't call out that Hu Yuyun had been secretly pinching the baby the whole time.

Hu Yuyun might have her own selfish reasons, but as long as they didn't hurt anyone or betray the greater good, Qin Jiao couldn't be bothered to meddle.

Shen Fuqing ran a tight, ruthless ship. In just over ten days, the Sharp-crested Snakes in Xiaoxiang Prefecture were wiped out. Xiao Baiyu also wrote up the latest antidote recipe for the new prefect, so anyone bitten by a leftover snake could be treated fast.

The summer rain came down hard, clearing the city's miasma. The drizzle slowly let up, and He Zhao folded his prized floral silk umbrella and strolled over to Qin Jiao: "Xiaoxiang Prefecture's got peace now—Lord Shen deserves a ton of credit."

Qin Jiao sighed too: "Yeah. Wonder where Lord Shen's gotten to by now?"

Before he died, Xie Ji'an admitted the last of the Crown Prince's imitation paintings, "The Pavilion About to Collapse," was at Jing Pass. So once things wrapped up in Xiaoxiang, Shen Fuqing headed to Jing Pass to hunt for it.

Qin Jiao and Xie Nai were supposed to go too, but the "Xiaoxiang Divine Maiden" business wasn't finished, so they'd catch up with him later.

"He's already arrived at Jing Pass."

Xie Nai said, smoothing the damp ends of Qin Jiao's hair.

Shen Fuqing didn't just bring the Court folks—he also had Xie Xuanran's Shadow Guards and Wu Sheng, who was Lin Wen's man, along for the ride. Luo Bei stayed in touch with the Shadow Guards, so he basically knew Shen Fuqing's every move.

"Mm." Qin Jiao nodded, then "rescued" his hair from Xie Nai's hands.

Fine, fixing his wet hair was one thing, but why did this guy keep toying with it?

So many people were watching.

He Zhao snickered quietly, acting like he didn't see the little moment between Qin Jiao and Xie Nai, and asked, "You two heading to the lake island the day after tomorrow?"

After fixing his hair, Qin Jiao looked out at the misty white Fengwu River in the distance. "Yeah, day after tomorrow we'll go fetch those 'Divine Maidens' back."

Luo Yue did a rough tally: over the years, Guan Jiu had picked twenty-seven "Xiaoxiang Divine Maidens" in all. The oldest was just past six, the youngest maybe a year old.

These red-eyed girls had all been sent to the island in the middle of Fengwu River to be raised. Earlier, when the Sharp-crested Snakes were causing chaos in Xiaoxiang Prefecture, the Shadow Guards, the Lingnan Army, and the original yamen runners had all been assigned to catch snakes day and night. By the time they finally had spare hands, Xiaoxiang Prefecture was hit by consecutive torrential rains.

During those days, the Fengwu River raged with towering waves, the waters churning like a frenzied beast. There was no need to even test the water—standing on the shore, one could see the massive whirlpools formed by the rushing currents. Helplessly, the matter of retrieving those girls had to be postponed until now.

Interestingly enough, there was a coincidence in all this. Earlier, Si Lu had agreed to help lure Wu Tuyin into a trap, and the condition he proposed was that Qin Jiao and the others help him find some people.

And the people he wanted to find turned out to be none other than those "Xiaoxiang Divine Maidens."

Si Lu didn't reveal why he wanted to find those girls, but since Si Lu would be accompanying them on the trip to the lake island the day after tomorrow, Qin Jiao figured they'd be able to glean something then.

"Unfortunately, I won't be able to go with you this time."

Summer was drawing to a close, and autumn was about to begin. He Zhao and Xiao Baiyu's wedding date had finally been set for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Originally, the wedding wasn't supposed to be so soon. Xiao Qisheng had planned for the two to marry at year's end. But Xiao Baiyu couldn't resist adding a few lines in every letter to his father about how attentive He Zhao was to Qin Jiao—taking him out for breakfast, shielding him with his own body—and how Qin Jiao had bought He Zhao a "love token silk umbrella" and so on...

Xiao Qisheng was completely taken in by Xiao Baiyu's tall tales, terrified that He Zhao might truly end up with Qin Jiao for life. So in recent days, Xiao Qisheng had been sending letter after letter, sometimes several a day, urging He Zhao and the others to return to Apricot Grove Manor to prepare for the wedding.

He Zhao, being "simple-minded," had no idea what Xiao Baiyu had told his father. Neither did Qin Jiao—he only learned about his supposed "mutual affection" with He Zhao from Xie Nai one day...

"Little Qin Jiao," He Zhao said, a hint of reluctance creeping into his voice, perhaps brought on by the gloomy rainy day, "come to the manor early for the wedding feast at Mid-Autumn. If you're late, I'll make sure you end up on your back like a donkey rolling in the dirt."

"Alright!" Qin Jiao couldn't help but laugh. "I'll be there on time. If I'm late, I'm at your mercy."

"That's more like it!"

He Zhao curled his lips into a smile, then unceremoniously pulled Qin Jiao away from Xie Nai's side.

Xie Nai: "?"

Unaware that anything was amiss, He Zhao happily whispered to Qin Jiao: "Come on, let's go together! We've been so busy since arriving in Xiaoxiang Prefecture—I promised to take you to eat crab but never got around to it. Let's go! Tonight at Xiaoxiang Tower, we drink until we're drunk, and there's no shortage of crab!"

Qin Jiao was delighted: "Great! Drunken crab is delicious—order plenty of drunken crab!"

He Zhao and Qin Jiao walked off arm in arm, leaving Xie Nai standing there alone: "..."

And Xiao Baiyu, also left behind, hugged the garish silk umbrella and sighed: "How wonderful, so harmonious and happy."

Xie Nai again: "..."

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