The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool

The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 235

by Little Panda

Extra 10

Good and Bad

Qu Ning knew she was in the wrong now, but she didn’t feel the same fear she usually would. When Cheng Xi withdrew her hand, Qu Ning looked toward Qu Sheng.

Qu Sheng stood there, her expression unreadable as she gazed at her.

Zhao Ningying glanced up at Xiao Bingying. Reading the look on Xiao Bingying’s face, she put on a well-behaved look of someone who knew she’d done wrong.

Xiao Bingying knew her daughter didn’t talk much, but her mind was as clear as a mirror. She asked with feigned severity, “Was the fruit wine good?”

Zhao Ningying looked up, round eyes wide, her pink lips parting as she replied, “Daughter knows she did wrong.”

“This child also knows she did wrong,” Qu Ning said to Qu Sheng after Zhao Ningying finished.

Qu Zhimu, seeing her two younger sisters, only now realized the matter had gotten out of hand. But she’d always been favored by the adults and figured she wouldn’t be punished, so she hurriedly spoke up for them. “It’s Mu’er who wanted to drink and dragged her two younger sisters into it. Don’t blame them.”

Everyone looked at Qu Zhimu. Zhao Jiayu clicked her tongue. “What did you think you were doing, learning to drink? And dragging your younger sisters along—why couldn’t you learn something good for once?”

Qu Zhimu tilted her head at Zhao Jiayu’s scolding, her ears seemingly unwilling to listen anymore, her head buzzing from the tirade.

“It wasn’t Mu-jiejie’s fault. It was Ning’er who wanted to drink. If anyone’s to blame, blame Ning’er,” Qu Ning said, head drooping.

Hearing both her older sisters speak, Zhao Ningying didn’t stay out of it either. She followed Qu Ning’s words, saying, “It was Ying’er who came up with the idea to have someone fetch the fruit wine.”

The three little ones didn’t shirk responsibility. Qu Sheng and the others were quite gratified to hear it. But aside from the drinking, there was one more matter.

Qu Zhimu and Zhao Ningying were each led back by their respective parents. Lin Xizhao helped Qu Ning wipe her face, while Qu Sheng sat at the desk and brought out the dice.

Lin Xizhao finished wiping the face cream off Qu Ning. When she turned and saw Qu Sheng sitting there motionless, she gestured for Qu Ning to go over.

She’d seen the dice on the table last night too.

Qu Ning understood and glanced in Qu Sheng’s direction, then walked over.

Qu Ning stood beside Qu Sheng and called out, “Mother.”

Qu Sheng turned to look at her at the sound, studied her daughter for a moment, and brought the dice in her hand before Qu Ning’s eyes.

Qu Ning looked at the dice in Qu Sheng’s hand and gently bit her lower lip. After a moment, she said, “This child shouldn’t have led her Jiejie and Meimei to gamble with dice.”

“Since you know you shouldn’t have, why did you do it then?” Qu Sheng’s tone wasn’t harsh—in fact, it was very gentle.

Qu Ning lowered her eyes, unable to answer the question. Wasn’t a child’s nature to learn and imitate? She’d seen Zhao Jiayu and the others outside playing dice for drinking games, and she’d wanted to play with her older and younger sisters too. As for getting drunk—that, she hadn’t expected.

“This child will never touch dice again,” Qu Ning said, lifting her head.

Qu Sheng looked at her daughter with her head bowed, let out a quiet sigh, and lifted her onto the seat. She regarded her gently and, after a pause, said, “A die is just an ordinary object. Whether it’s good or bad depends entirely on the person who uses it.”

What fault did a die have? It was invented to pass idle time—a thing meant for relaxation, yet people used it for gambling, ruining families and even costing lives.

Good or bad—wasn’t that determined by the user?

Qu Ning looked up at Qu Sheng, blinking gently, as if pondering the meaning of her words.

“Was the fruit wine good?” Qu Sheng asked the same question Xiao Bingying had.

Qu Ning pursed her small lips and, after a moment, said, “The fruit wine was good, but one shouldn’t drink too much of it. This child failed to exercise restraint and nearly caused a great mishap. This child will henceforth remind herself to think twice before acting.”

Qu Sheng’s lips curved slightly at her daughter’s answer. Lin Xizhao, seeing her daughter’s quick-witted little mind draw the right conclusion, was deeply gratified as well.

The group stayed at the Liang Family Mansion for a few days. When they set out again, the wind that blew was already cold.

The autumn wind was bleak. Yellow leaves trembled in the cold gusts for a few moments before drifting far away.

Lin Xizhao held Qu Ning, who was lying against her lap, and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside. They’d left the Liang Family Mansion two days ago. Every place they passed through now carried the scent of deep autumn.

Around midday, Xiao Bingying came over to ask whether they’d like to have their midday meal.

Qu Sheng, seeing a stream outside, ordered the carriages to stop and set up camp right there to eat and rest.

The little Zhu girl was held in Lin Xizhao’s arms by the campfire. Qu Sheng took Qu Zhimu and the others to the nearby woods to hunt.

Xiao Bingying and Cheng Xi stayed behind to protect everyone. Hunting—naturally, Jin Mingyi wouldn’t miss out on that. She took her bow and arrows and led the children, even more excited than they were.

“Wow, cousin, you hit another one!” Jin Mingyi never stinted on praise. Sometimes she praised Zhu Ming’an so much it left her dizzy.

Qu Sheng shot a pheasant, and then heard a commotion not far away. As she turned, she loosed an arrow directly toward the sound. A faint cry of pain followed almost immediately, and a deer collapsed on the ground.

Qu Zhimu and Jin Mingyi went to haul the deer over. Qu Ning and Zhao Ningying, the two little ones, stood where they were, surrounded by the game Qu Sheng had brought down.

On the way back, each of the little ones carried a pheasant and a rabbit. Jin Mingyi dragged the deer, trailing behind Qu Sheng, grumbling the whole way that Qu Sheng wouldn’t help her.

“Hey, cousin, at least help me out a little.”

Qu Sheng turned around and, in a rare moment of childishness, smiled and waved her bow and arrows, jostled the arrows on her back, then turned and continued walking the way they’d come.

The two of them were barely a few days apart in age, yet the older cousin was weaker than the younger. If Jin Mingyi was willing to call her “older cousin,” then she might just go help her.

Jin Mingyi stomped her foot in frustration, dragging the deer along. When she finally reached the guards, she quickly waved them over to carry the deer away.

By the time the venison was roasted, Jin Mingyi’s anger still hadn’t dissipated. Zhu Ming’an watched her wife fuming and, with a smile, cut the venison and brought it to her. “There, don’t be mad. You were hungry already—eat something first.”

Jin Mingyi was placated. Looking at Zhu Ming’an’s face—the one that had captured her heart—most of her anger melted away. She took the venison and began eating. Nearby, Qu Sheng was also cutting meat into small pieces and handing them to Lin Xizhao to feed to Zhu Qianjie in her arms.

Zhu Qianjie ate the venison with her eyes squinting in delight. As for the matter of her mother being angry, she pretended not to see. When the little one looked up again, she saw Qu Sheng offering meat to Lin Xizhao’s lips.

Lin Xizhao took it in her mouth gently, and when her eyes met Qu Sheng’s, her gaze was so tender it seemed you could wring water from it.

The other three little ones sat in a row. Seeing this, Qu Zhimu laughed and nudged Zhao Ningying with her elbow, and Zhao Ningying laughed and nudged Qu Ning.

Qu Ning looked up and smiled, not finding her mothers’ behavior embarrassing at all. She’d heard their story—wonderful and deeply inspiring.

“Ahem, mind your image—the children are all still here,” Zhao Jiayu reminded them, seeing that the children were all looking their way.

Zhao Jiayu had been watching and felt that if she didn’t say something, the two of them would end up kissing right there. But when her gaze flicked elsewhere, the other two pairs had apparently been doing the same thing just now. Both pairs were now somewhat restrained by Zhao Jiayu’s reminder—though still excessively affectionate.

Xiao Bingying held a handkerchief, gently wiping the oil from the corner of Cheng Xi’s lips, her eyes full of undisguised adoration.

Zhao Jiayu looked back and forth at all these couples being so lovey-dovey and, for a brief moment, regretted not bringing Qu Yu along.

From midday to sunset, and when they set out again, the sky had already gone dark.

Xiao Bingying returned from scouting ahead and said, “There’s an inn up ahead. Let’s stop there for the night. It won’t be too late to enter the city tomorrow.” If they kept going, it’d probably be another four hours’ travel, and they weren’t in a hurry—better to find lodging first.

Qu Sheng nodded and had Xiao Bingying lead the way.

A quarter of an hour later, everyone stopped in front of the inn, carrying the few little ones who had fallen asleep down from the carriages.

Since they were lodging outside and it was a rustic inn, the little ones all stayed with the adults in one room.

Lin Xizhao carried Qu Ning onto the bed. Qu Sheng brought hot water and wiped Qu Ning’s face. Qu Ning had already fallen asleep. Seeing that Lin Xizhao had also finished wiping her face, Qu Sheng took the towel back and returned the basin to its stand.

The inn was a bit crude, but relatively clean. Qu Sheng got onto the bed and first kissed Lin Xizhao’s soft lips over their daughter.

But with their daughter between them, she could never quite reach Lin Xizhao. When their lips parted, Qu Sheng looked down at the daughter blocking her from Lin Xizhao, thought for a moment, and shifted Lin Xizhao to the outer side.

Lin Xizhao turned on her side, holding their daughter, while Qu Sheng held Lin Xizhao from the outside.

Lin Xizhao turned to look at Qu Sheng. Seeing her innocent expression, she chose to indulge her. Qu Sheng pressed her face into the crook of Lin Xizhao’s neck, breathing in the cool fragrance she could never get enough of in this lifetime, and pressed her lips there, kissing gently.

Early the next morning, when Qu Sheng and the others got up, the small inn’s ground floor was already full, every table and chair occupied. Xiao Bingying glanced downstairs, then turned to Qu Sheng, who was also standing in the hallway. “I’ve already told the waiter to bring breakfast to each room. Let’s eat in our rooms.”

Qu Sheng nodded. When she returned to the room, Lin Xizhao was doing Qu Ning’s hair. At the sound, mother and daughter both turned. Qu Ning asked, “Mother, aren’t we going down to eat?”

Qu Sheng looked up and said gently, “A lot of people arrived downstairs sometime during the night. There are no seats left, so we’ll eat in the room and set out when we’re done.”

Qu Ning nodded her little head. After her hair was done, she went out curiously to take a look. Indeed, a lot of people had arrived. They didn’t look like traveling merchants or martial arts wanderers—they were all ordinary folk, women and children.

After breakfast, the group prepared their horses and departed, heading toward the nearest city.

Before they even reached the city gates, Qu Sheng’s carriage came to a stop. Several lines of people were queued at the gate. It wasn’t that the city guards were blocking entry—just the usual inspection of those entering.

But for a city this small, having this many people streaming in made Qu Sheng suspicious.

“I heard from my uncle that there have been rumors of immortality lately. Could this be related?” Lin Xizhao said from inside the carriage.

Qu Sheng withdrew her gaze from outside the carriage and said, “I’ve already sent Bingying to investigate. We’ll know soon enough.” Reminded by Lin Xizhao, Qu Sheng’s suspicion solidified.

In recent years, the realm had been at peace and the people were well-fed and well-clothed. Many had taken up the guise of “attaining immortality” to solicit incense and offerings, wantonly amassing wealth. Before leaving the palace, she’d already dispatched people to investigate covertly.

She’d assumed they were just small-time swindlers, but seeing it with her own eyes made her suddenly feel that this was no ordinary matter.

She had never believed in ghosts and gods, and certainly not in attaining immortality. Quzhao permitted temples and Daoist shrines to exist, but did not permit fraud and deception.

The author has something to say:

Qu Sheng: “My wife likes me the most.”

Qu Ning: “Oh.”

Qu Sheng: “…”