The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 215
by Little PandaA Web Within a Web
Everyone in the room shifted their gaze from Qu Sheng’s face to Cheng Feng’s.
Cheng Feng stared at Qu Sheng, his eyes carrying a trace of scrutiny. Qu Sheng waited for a moment, and seeing that he didn’t answer, she smiled and said, “We only wish to fulfill the lifelong desire of our sisters, whom We hold as close as our own flesh and blood. Nothing shall stand in our way. What’s the King of Haichao afraid of?”
Hearing this, Cheng Feng lowered his eyes, his expression a mix of difficulty and anxiety. “Your Majesty’s imperial command is naturally one this subject must obey,” he said. “It’s only that when this subject inherited the throne of the late king, this subject received aid from the Ge family. Furthermore, the eldest son of the Ge family was once betrothed to my little sister. Now, he’s petitioned this subject more than once to issue an order marrying my little sister to him. This subject has only been able to drag things out because there was no other choice.”
Hearing this, Cheng Xi felt a trace of doubt rise within her. Her willow-leaf brows1 twitched slightly, and her gaze turned into one of quiet scrutiny as she looked at Cheng Feng.
Ge Chuan had indeed brought it up before, but he’d already been rejected. Though it was done in private, Cheng Feng had said at the time that he’d defer to her wishes, and she had clearly stated that she would never marry Ge Chuan.
Qu Sheng raised her eyes, feigning an attentive ear as she waited for Cheng Feng to continue guiding her toward becoming the executioner who would eliminate the Ge family.
“The Ge family has served as vassals of our house for generations,” Cheng Feng continued. “It’s only because the late king heavily relied upon them that they reached their heights of today. However, their power has grown too immense. This subject failed to curb them early on, allowing them to interfere heavily in this subject’s royal court like wolves and tigers. Now, he’s even said to others in private that if this subject marries my little sister to anyone else, he will surely rebel and support a branch of my Cheng family to take the throne…”
After Cheng Feng departed, Cheng Xi and Xiao Bingying went to see him off. Lin Xizhao remained in the room, quietly pondering Cheng Feng’s words.
“Those two siblings, Cheng Xi and Cheng Feng, are actually quite alike,” Qu Sheng said unhurriedly.
Lin Xizhao turned to look at her and smiled. “I, on the other hand, feel neither of them is in the wrong. Cheng Feng’s use of external force to intervene in his inner court and rid himself of a great threat is exactly what a ruler should—and must—do. And if Cheng Xi hadn’t acted as she did back then, we likely wouldn’t have received such timely aid from the Northern Frontier.” Given Cheng Wei’s temperament, he certainly wouldn’t have dispatched anyone to assist Qu Sheng.
Qu Sheng looked up at Lin Xizhao. Lowering her eyes for a brief moment, she nodded in agreement. But there was still one point she wasn’t entirely sure of. She asked Lin Xizhao, “Wife, do you also believe Cheng Feng has been waiting all this time for me to take action?”
Lin Xizhao nodded gently. With a faint smile on her lips, she walked over to Qu Sheng’s side and helped wrap her outer robe a bit tighter around her. “Permitting Bingying and Cheng Xi to go to our Quzhao this time was likely something he’d envisioned long ago,” she said. “The only thing he probably didn’t expect was that you’d come here in person.”
From the very beginning, Cheng Feng had never minded the relationship between Cheng Xi and Xiao Bingying. Years ago, when Cheng Xi wanted to stay by his side, it was actually Cheng Feng who’d scolded her, telling her not to be ungrateful, which was what prompted Cheng Xi to return to Xiao Bingying’s side.
Qu Sheng pondered this for a moment and nodded. Her thoughts finally seemed to align.
Cheng Feng was playing quite a grand game of chess; Qu Sheng had actually walked straight into the layout he had prepared.
First, Cheng Feng had dispatched Xiao Bingying to support Qu Sheng. Upon their return, there’d been no movement for several months, but if Cheng Xi hadn’t been summoned away by Liu Wuxiang’s letter, he likely would’ve had the two of them return to Quzhao before long.
Cheng Feng understood the relationship between Xiao Bingying and the Qu family better than anyone. He wanted to use Qu Sheng’s influence to eliminate a family that, while lacking the desire to rebel, possessed the actual power to do so.
And the best bait was Cheng Xi.
Though there had been some twists and turns along the way, nothing had deviated from Cheng Feng’s expectations.
“Wife, do you think Ge Chuan would actually launch a rebellion for Cheng Xi’s sake?”
Lin Xizhao shook her head. “Though Ge Chuan likes Cheng Xi, she’s by no means irreplaceable to him,” she said. “Back when Cheng Xi was sent to the capital of the previous dynasty, if he’d truly cared, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t have gone. Yet he chose to bide his time, obeying his father’s commands to continue serving Cheng Wei. Later, when he saw the writing on the wall, he turned his blade upon the very monarch he swore to serve. I believe Cheng Feng never intended to keep such a disloyal and unrighteous man from the start. Tolerating him until now was probably born of sheer helplessness.”
Qu Sheng shared the exact same thoughts as Lin Xizhao. Seeing that Qu Sheng had fully grasped the situation, Lin Xizhao smiled and said, “Cheng Xi will likely come over in a bit to explain everything to you in detail.”
Not long after Lin Xizhao finished speaking, Cheng Xi indeed returned. She needed to check Qu Sheng’s pulse.
“Your Majesty,” Cheng Xi said as she entered. Her manner seemed less casual than before.
Qu Sheng rested her arm on the bolster. As Cheng Xi took her pulse, she occasionally glanced up at Qu Sheng, trying to gauge whether she’d realized that Cheng Feng had laid a trap long ago.
Standing to the side, Lin Xizhao noticed that Cheng Xi was taking an unusually long time to check her pulse. With a trace of anxiety, she asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Cheng Xi withdrew her hand. Looking at Qu Sheng’s calm expression, her own gaze drifted away guiltily.
Qu Sheng had originally intended to come here specifically to arrange Cheng Xi and Xiao Bingying’s marriage. Her brother’s actions were entirely superfluous; he’d chosen deception just to have Qu Sheng deal with the Ge family for him. The Ge family had never made any treasonous statements, though they certainly did meddle in the affairs of the royal court.
“Your Majesty, I have something I must tell you.”
Cheng Xi used formal address. Lin Xizhao stood to the side, her gaze shifting between the two of them. She saw Qu Sheng raise an eyebrow slightly and ask, “Is it about your brother?”
“Yes,” Cheng Xi replied. It was impossible to hide anything from people as intelligent as Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng. Rather than waiting for them to uncover it with disgust, it was far better to be completely upfront.
“If you want to talk about your brother wanting to use our help, then there’s no need to say it.”
Cheng Xi’s eyelashes trembled slightly. At this moment, she knew that Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao had indeed already guessed the truth.
Seeing that Cheng Xi seemed somewhat constrained, Lin Xizhao said softly, “We originally came here to help you and Bingying arrange your marriage, and that requires your royal brother’s consent to succeed. We have a favor to ask of him, and he has a favor to ask of us. This arrangement benefits both sides. Besides, didn’t Sheng’er already want to eliminate the Ge family anyway?”
Hearing this, Cheng Xi looked at Lin Xizhao, then at Qu Sheng, and laid bare everything Cheng Feng had planned.
Over the next two days, Zhao Jiayu took her daughter to run wild all over the capital of Haichao. Cheng Xi and Xiao Bingying accompanied them, while Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao followed along behind. Zhao Jiayu and Qu Zhimu were playing too wildly to notice that someone was tailing them from behind.
Xiao Bingying and Cheng Xi were already accustomed to this, so they didn’t bother to warn Zhao Jiayu.
However, before this, Lin Xizhao had already informed her of the situation. Though Zhao Jiayu hadn’t personally spotted their tails, she knew someone must be monitoring them from not too far away.
“Quick, look at this!” Zhao Jiayu said, lifting a small, delicately woven bamboo basket in her hand.
“Customer, this is used at home to scoop water for drinking. Why not take a pair?” the street vendor introduced his wares.
Upon hearing the words “scoop water,” Zhao Jiayu pulled a face as if she were being made a fool of, looking utterly disdainful.
From Xiao Bingying’s arms, Qu Zhimu saw her mother making such a face. She leaned her small body over and whispered, “Mother, you look so silly looking like that.”
The others burst into laughter at her words, and Zhao Jiayu’s expression froze. She looked at her daughter, smoothed out her face, and muttered testily, “Things made of bamboo can’t hold water. Haven’t you ever heard of fetching water with a bamboo basket only to end up with nothing2?”
Lin Xizhao took the small bamboo basket from the vendor’s hand. After examining it closely, she said, “With craftsmanship like this, carrying water shouldn’t be an issue.”
Hearing Lin Xizhao’s words, Qu Sheng also glanced over. Still skeptical, Zhao Jiayu snatched the basket back to examine it again, asking doubtfully, “Can this really carry water?”
“It can,” Cheng Xi chimed in. “There are quite a few people here who weave these. Merchants often transport them to the border region where they can fetch a good price.”
“And it doesn’t leak at all?” Zhao Jiayu was still unconvinced. Even if it could hold water, it would surely only be temporary.
Cheng Xi took another basket from the street vendor and examined it carefully. “This one won’t,” she said. “Whether it leaks depends entirely on the weaver’s skill.”
Hearing this, Zhao Jiayu nodded thoughtfully. When she looked up, she saw the street vendor grinning from ear to ear; he had certainly never seen so many beautiful women appearing together before.
“Let’s get a pair for our Mu’er to play with,” Zhao Jiayu said, walking ahead with a basket in each hand.
Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao followed behind, while Xiao Bingying paid the vendor, cradling Qu Zhimu in her arms with a smile.
They hadn’t gone more than a few paces when Zhao Jiayu started clamoring that she was hungry. Qu Zhimu had also spotted the restaurant sign up ahead, her eyes fixed tightly upon it.
Xiao Bingying smiled, looking down at the little girl. “Is Mu’er hungry too?” she asked gently.
Hearing her voice, Qu Zhimu turned her head to meet Xiao Bingying’s gaze and nodded her little head in earnest. “Mmh.”
“Let’s go inside and get something to eat, then,” Lin Xizhao proposed, her eyes curving into a warm smile.
They could let anyone go hungry, but they certainly couldn’t starve their little Mu’er. They’d passed by this place several times already, yet they’d never actually stepped inside.
As soon as Lin Xizhao spoke, Zhao Jiayu put on a fawning expression, wrapping her arms around Lin Xizhao’s arm and half-dragging her into the restaurant.
Cheng Xi secured a private room, and everyone sat down. While ordering, Zhao Jiayu said to the waiter, “Could you bring us a basin of water?”
The waiter was somewhat puzzled. “Does the honored guest wish to wash her hands?”
“No.” They’d already wiped their hands earlier.
Indicating the basket Xiao Bingying had bought for her, Zhao Jiayu said, “I want to see if this thing can actually hold water.”
Hearing this, the waiter laughed. “The honored guests must be from another country?”
Zhao Jiayu froze for a second. The languages here were mutually intelligible, but there were minor differences in accents. Still, this man had immediately recognized that she wasn’t from Haichao. Remembering the purpose of their trip, she couldn’t help but grow wary. “Just go when you’re told to. Why all the chatter?”
Seeing that Zhao Jiayu had gone from smiles to impatience in the blink of an eye, the waiter quickly complied. “Ah, yes, yes, yes. This servant will fetch a bucket of water for you right away.”
As the waiter left, Zhao Jiayu’s gaze followed him out. She tilted her head close to Lin Xizhao and whispered, “Is that guy keeping tabs on us?”
Seeing how jumpy Zhao Jiayu was, Lin Xizhao smiled. “Probably not.”
“The craft of weaving these baskets is something everyone born in Haichao knows, regardless of age,” Cheng Xi explained.
Hearing this, Zhao Jiayu blinked, seemingly convinced now that the basket really could scoop water.
“Aiyou, aiyou! Honored guest, I’m so sorry, so sorry! Are you alright?!”
Hearing the waiter’s voice, everyone quickly looked outside. Qu Sheng stood up and walked to the doorway of the private room.
At that moment, a wooden bucket lay tipped on its side, spilling water all over the floor. The waiter was frantically using a cloth to help the man who had collided with his bucket wipe down his robes.
“Enough, enough!” The man had half a bucket of water splashed on him, and with the waiter fussing over him to wipe his robes, he was so startled that he looked toward the doorway of the private room. When his eyes fell on Qu Sheng’s face, he froze for a brief moment. Quickly turning impatient, he kicked the waiter aside and bolted down the stairs.
Qu Sheng watched him descend the stairs in a panic. Even at the landing, the man didn’t forget to cast one more glance back up. Qu Sheng met his gaze with a cold, indifferent expression.
The man quickly averted his eyes and rushed out the door.
Qu Sheng returned to the private room, where Xiao Bingying was looking out the window down at the street.
“He’s gone,” Xiao Bingying said, turning around as Qu Sheng walked back in.
Qu Sheng gave a soft “Mmh” and sat down, saying, “It’ll still take some time for the news to travel back.”
Lin Xizhao lowered her eyes for a brief moment, then looked at the others. “Perhaps it won’t take so long.”
While this place was quite a distance from Quzhao’s capital, if the person who wanted to get something from Qu Sheng was right here, or perhaps at the border between Quzhao and Haichao, then it wouldn’t take much time at all.
The others exchanged glances, lost in their own thoughts, until the waiter returned with a fresh bucket of water, interrupting their contemplation.
When Zhao Jiayu saw the water, she excitedly lowered the little basket into it. She then lifted it and wiped the exterior dry with a towel. She and Qu Zhimu stared at it so intently that their eyes began to ache, yet they didn’t see a single drop of water leak out.
After a full day of walking and playing, Qu Zhimu and Zhao Jiayu finished bathing, and fell fast asleep, mother and daughter both. Lin Xizhao held Qu Sheng’s shivering, ice-cold body, pulling over the extra quilt that Cheng Xi had ordered to be sent earlier that evening.
Lin Xizhao touched Qu Sheng’s forehead. The temperature wasn’t actually terribly low, but Qu Sheng’s involuntary trembling in her sleep made her heart ache terribly.
Lin Xizhao lowered her head to plant a gentle kiss on Qu Sheng’s forehead, then tucked the quilt in behind her back. But just as she was about to close her eyes, she heard a sudden commotion outside.
“Catch the thief!”
The voices of the outer courtyard guards echoed from outside. The Quzhao guards stationed inside the courtyard immediately drew their swords, warily searching their surroundings.
As the guards searched the area, a hidden weapon3 was suddenly thrown, striking one of the guards. The guard collapsed to the ground instantly, and the other guards immediately spotted the black-clad figure’s location.
The black-clad figure saw the guards leaping toward the rooftop where he stood, and he immediately turned and fled elsewhere.
Yet the moment the guards gave chase, another seven or eight masked figures dropped from the roof of Qu Sheng and Lin Xizhao’s room to the ground below.
The author has something to say:
Qu Sheng: “Who needs a quilt? It would be fine if my wife just lay on top of me.”
Lin Xizhao: “…”
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Footnotes
- liǔ méi: 'willow brows'. A traditional Chinese aesthetic standard describing thin, gently curved eyebrows resembling willow leaves, often associated with feminine grace.
- zhú lán dǎ shuǐ yī cháng kōng: 'to fetch water with a bamboo basket only to end up with nothing'. A classic idiom meaning to make a futile effort.
- àn qì: 'hidden weapon'. A category of small, concealed projectile weapons used in Chinese martial arts for stealth attacks.
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