The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 19

Is That Sheng’er?

Qu Sheng looked down at Lin Xizhao, who was crying with her arms wrapped around her neck. Although she didn’t feel the same grief in her heart, she did feel a sense of heartache.

Just now, when Lin Xizhao’s uncles were talking about how much they missed Lin Xizhao’s birth mother, she had been observing Lin Xizhao out of the corner of her eye.

When Lin Xizhao first learned of her mother’s death, she hadn’t broken down and cried. She had always been raised well, possessing her mother’s composure in the face of crisis. But who would have known that when she was alone with Qu Sheng, she cried until her liver and intestines were broken inch by inch¹. If Qu Sheng’s heart hadn’t been a bit harder, she probably would have been holding her head and crying bitterly along with her.

Perhaps it was because Qu Sheng seemed mentally incomplete to outsiders that Lin Xizhao let her guard down around her. Or perhaps, Lin Xizhao had accepted her into her circle of close confidants. But regardless of the reason, Qu Sheng, to her, was the outlet for her pent-up emotions to be vented and channeled.

Once the pain suppressed in her heart was released, she felt better after a good cry.

Qu Sheng just stood there, motionless and silent, allowing Lin Xizhao to soak the clothes on her neck and shoulder.

A long time later, Lin Xizhao lifted her head. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her eyelashes matted together by tears. Qu Sheng looked up at her, a pang of heartache in her gaze.

Qu Sheng raised her hand and wiped away Lin Xizhao’s tear tracks. Their eyes met, and Qu Sheng spoke: “Jiejie, don’t cry.”

Hearing Qu Sheng’s words, Lin Xizhao was stunned for a moment, then she broke her tears and laughed. This was the first time she had heard Qu Sheng comfort her like this. Before, she was like a little wooden block who, aside from wiping away her tears, would not say a single word. This time, she had actually spoken.

“Alright, Jiejie won’t cry anymore. Let’s go back,” Lin Xizhao said. She gently squeezed Qu Sheng’s small hand, placed it against her cheek for a moment, and curved her beautiful eyes into a smile. Her gentle gaze soothed Qu Sheng’s worried expression.

When Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng returned to their room, Lin Xirui was waiting outside. When he was a shuzi², he had never been here before. Although this place couldn’t compare to the Chancellor’s Manor, this courtyard had a unique style. The moment he stepped in, he took a particular liking to it. The Zhumu³ had also been good to him in the past, which made his fondness for this place even stronger.

As a male, he didn’t dare to wander around randomly, so he wanted his older sister to show him around.

“Ah Jie⁴, what’s wrong with you?” Although night had fallen, Lin Xirui could tell she had been crying the moment Lin Xizhao walked closer.

Lin Xizhao looked at her younger brother, paused for a second, and asked, “Xirui, did you need me for something?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just came to see you, Ah Jie.” Lin Xirui didn’t expose the fact that she had been crying. He glanced at Qu Sheng, his gaze slightly narrowed, and then said deliberately, “Did you two sneak off to eat something good again behind my back?”

Lin Xizhao was amused by his words and said, “There are still loquats in the room. Do you want some?”

“No, I have some in my room too.” Lin Xirui pouted. “Since there’s nothing good to eat, I’ll be heading back.”

After saying that, Lin Xirui turned to leave but was stopped by Lin Xizhao. “Xirui, are you really alright?”

She had brought him here, so naturally, she had to look after him.

Lin Xirui smiled and said, “What could be wrong with me? Oh, right, if you get any good food, send a portion to me too. Don’t always let this little girl have all the advantages.”

Lin Xirui deliberately changed the subject, expressing his dissatisfaction. His sister was good to him, but compared to Qu Sheng, it was still lacking.

“I know, I know. Hurry and get some rest,” Lin Xizhao said, shaking her head with a smile. It was a good thing Qu Sheng didn’t know how to fight over these things. If both of them were like this, she really wouldn’t be able to handle it.

After Lin Xirui left, Lin Xizhao had someone prepare some hot water. She let Qu Sheng bathe first while she went back to the room to sort out some clothes for her.

They would be staying here for a few more days, and the weather was gradually getting warmer. Qu Sheng’s clothes had been packed by Jin Yunfei, and she didn’t know if they were suitable for the season.

Lin Xizhao finished arranging Qu Sheng’s clothes and went to the washroom. Hearing the sound of water, she said with a smile, “I won’t look at you. You can soak for a while longer.”

Qu Sheng, half-believing her, sat back down. A moment later, she saw Lin Xizhao draping the clothes over the screen.

“I’ve put the clothes here. Make sure you dry yourself completely before putting them on.” On the road, at the posthouses⁵, there were servant girls to attend to them, which had saved her a lot of trouble. She just didn’t understand why the servant girls were allowed to look, but she was not.

Not long after Lin Xizhao left, Qu Sheng got dressed and returned to the room. Seeing Lin Xizhao still staring blankly, Qu Sheng walked over. Looking at Lin Xizhao, who seemed to still be immersed in the words of her uncles, she interrupted, “Thirsty.”

Lin Xizhao raised her head. She looked at Qu Sheng’s cheeks, pink from the bath, and her eyelashes fluttered. In a momentary daze, she stood up and poured Qu Sheng a cup of tea.

“Wait,” Lin Xizhao called out as she saw Qu Sheng about to lift the hot tea to drink.

Qu Sheng’s outstretched hand paused in mid-air, and she looked at Lin Xizhao with confusion.

“I just added water to the pot, it’s too hot.” After saying this, Lin Xizhao took another cup and, while blowing on the tea, poured it back and forth between the two cups.

Ever since she was little, as long as Lin Xizhao was around, Qu Sheng was always taken care of comfortably. Lin Xizhao was even extremely mindful of things like preventing her from getting scalded while drinking water. This was probably the special treatment a simple-minded child ought to receive.

Qu Sheng sometimes wondered, if she were truly a fool, would Lin Xizhao still treat her this way? But then she thought again, in Lin Xizhao’s eyes, wasn’t she a fool right now?

Watching Qu Sheng drink the warm tea, a faint smile touched Lin Xizhao’s lips. She told her to rest first and then left the room.

Qu Sheng did not go to sleep early tonight. She kept waiting for Lin Xizhao to return from the washroom. But after waiting for a long time and not seeing her, she recalled what the Liang family uncles had told Lin Xizhao today about the strange circumstances of her mother’s death.

Although Lin Xizhao’s mother seemed gentle and weak, she had a very strong character, and her equestrian skills were first-rate. How could she have been thrown from a horse, and coincidentally been trampled by its hooves?

Although Qu Sheng knew the general picture, she had not yet obtained conclusive evidence. At the very least, she didn’t have absolute certainty that she could bring the murderer to justice with the rope of law⁶.

However, if the Liang family had evidence, even if the government couldn’t touch the person, as long as Lin Xizhao wanted them dead, she didn’t mind personally helping her finish off her mother’s killer.

Qu Sheng put on her outer robe, left the room, and went to the door of the washroom.

The two servant girls standing on either side saw Qu Sheng approach and curtsied. Qu Sheng glanced at them and pushed the door open to enter.

“Is that Sheng’er?” Due to her martial arts practice, Qu Sheng walked very lightly, and Lin Xizhao was already familiar with the sound of her footsteps.

Hearing the voice, Qu Sheng looked at the silhouette behind the screen, stopped in her tracks, and hummed a soft “en.”

Lin Xizhao stood up from the water. “Are you worried about me?” Lin Xizhao said as she dried her body, walking out with a pair of bare, wet jade feet.

Qu Sheng had her head lowered, but the moment she heard the voice and looked up, she saw Lin Xizhao standing before her, not wearing an inch of thread⁷. For some reason, her body trembled slightly. Stunned for a moment, she quickly averted her gaze elsewhere.

Seeing the strange expression on Qu Sheng’s face, Lin Xizhao grew even more concerned. She hurriedly took a few steps forward and asked, “What’s wrong?”

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The author has something to say:

Zhao Jiayu: “Tsk tsk tsk.”

Qu Sheng: “Ahem, a Junzi⁸ appreciates beauty, but seeks it with propriety… Do you understand ‘do not look at what is improper’?”⁹

Zhao Jiayu: “Hehe, I don’t.”

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