The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 20

Sheng’er, aren’t you coming over?

Qu Sheng lowered her head without a word, not daring to look at Lin Xizhao. Lin Xizhao looked at Qu Sheng’s slightly flushed cheeks and quickly realized the problem was her own.

Lin Xizhao said nothing. She took the clothes from the folding screen, put them on, and tied the lapel sash¹ at her waist before speaking softly, “Did I scare you?”

She knew perfectly well that Qu Sheng was easily embarrassed and that she shouldn’t have come out without getting dressed. A moment ago, she had been afraid that Qu Sheng was too worried about her, so she had rushed out to let her see she was okay, not expecting that it would actually frighten her.

Hearing her voice, Qu Sheng glanced over from the corner of her eye. Seeing that Lin Xizhao had put on her inner clothes², she slowly lifted her head and shook it.

She was brave enough to kill people, so how could this have scared her? It was just that it was the first time she had seen Lin Xizhao like that, and she couldn’t help but feel a little abashed.

“Wait for me a moment.”

Lin Xizhao finished putting on the rest of her clothes and walked to Qu Sheng’s side. After confirming that she really hadn’t been scared, she took her hand and led her back to the bedroom.

Lin Xizhao got into bed quite naturally, but after Qu Sheng got in, she didn’t dare to get close to her.

Lin Xizhao turned her head to look at this little sister who seemed both startled and not startled. For some reason, she always found Qu Sheng’s thoughts difficult to guess. If you said she was deep, she seemed to only know how to eat and drink all day. If you said she was simple, she would do things that were hard to comprehend.

They were both girls. If anyone was going to be shy, shouldn’t it have been her? Why had Qu Sheng been so embarrassed just now?

“Sheng’er, aren’t you coming over?” Lin Xizhao called to her softly, inviting her to rest her head on her arm.

At her words, Qu Sheng raised her head, her gaze looking at her a bit sluggishly. Lin Xizhao stared into Qu Sheng’s eyes, wanting to find something within them, but she soon saw Qu Sheng lower her head, obediently move closer, and lie down in her embrace.

Perhaps she was overthinking it. Or perhaps it was because Auntie Qu had taught her the principle to do not look at what is improper³.

Lin Xizhao held the soft and delicate Qu Sheng in her arms, as if she were embracing everything that belonged to her in the night.

In the dead of night, Lin Xizhao had a nightmare again. Perhaps it was that the day has its thoughts, and the night has its dreams⁴; this time, she saw a blurry scene of her mother being murdered. After waking with a start, Lin Xizhao stared blankly at the little sister holding her in her arms. Meeting her worried gaze, she nuzzled her head into her soft, fragrant embrace.

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Early the next morning, Zhao Jiayu was up at the crack of dawn and came to knock on Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng’s door.

Hearing the noise, Qu Sheng sat halfway up. She glanced back at Lin Xizhao, who was still fast asleep, then lifted the covers and got out of bed.

“Where’s Xizhao?” Zhao Jiayu only saw Qu Sheng and tilted her head to peek inside.

“Jiejie, sleeping.”

“Still sleeping? The sun is already shining on your butt⁵.” Zhao Jiayu had never seen such a lazy Lin Xizhao.

Qu Sheng looked at Zhao Jiayu but didn’t reply. When Zhao Jiayu tried to go inside, she shifted her body to block her.

“What are you blocking me for?” Zhao Jiayu tried to swerve around her, but failed twice.

“Jiejie, sleeping,” Qu Sheng repeated.

“Alright, alright, let her sleep.” Zhao Jiayu understood Qu Sheng’s short sentences. If she couldn’t drag Lin Xizhao along, getting Qu Sheng was just as good. “Hey, we’re going out for some good food, want to come?”

As soon as Zhao Jiayu had arrived, she had asked the servants of the Liang Manor⁶ if there were any local delicacies. She was told that on East Street, there was a place that sold jujube flower cakes⁷. She had eaten all sorts of delicious things in the manor, so of course she couldn’t have breakfast there. She had never tried this authentic local specialty, and since she had made the trip, she had to go and have a taste.

Qu Sheng lowered her eyes and hesitated for a moment, but before she could answer, she was dragged away by Zhao Jiayu.

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When Lin Xizhao woke up, Qu Sheng was gone. After getting dressed, she asked a servant and learned that Qu Sheng had been dragged away early in the morning by Zhao Jiayu, the others, and her own younger brother. They also said they would bring some food back for her.

She knew that Zhao Jiayu was active by nature and couldn’t sit still. Moreover, the three of them knew martial arts, and with Feng Qi following, this place, under her maternal uncle’s governance, was quite safe. There was no need for her to worry.

After washing up, Lin Xizhao went to see her maternal uncles.

Yesterday, her uncles had spoken to her about her mother’s case and asked if she wanted to investigate it further. She hadn’t given her stance then, but after a night of thinking, she decided to give it a try. Even if her mother’s death was truly just an accident, there was no harm in looking into it.

And if her mother’s death was not an accident, it would be good to have the murderer tied by the law⁸, so as to comfort her mother’s spirit in heaven.

When Lin Xizhao’s five maternal uncles heard her say she wanted to investigate, their expressions all became extremely solemn and serious. Investigating something from over two years ago would be no easy task, but for the sake of their sibling, they were willing to put in twelve-tenths of their effort and would do everything in their power.

Regardless of the outcome, what they wanted was peace of mind. The death of Lin Xizhao’s birth mother had become the biggest mystery in the Liang family, a weight on their hearts for two long years. They had wanted to investigate at the time, but all the evidence provided by the Prime Minister’s Manor pointed to an accidental death from falling off a horse. Furthermore, Lin Xizhao was still young then and could do nothing about her mother’s death, which was why the matter had been shelved for so long.

Now, with Lin Xizhao’s approval, the Liang family could send out the army with a name⁹. If the Prime Minister’s Manor were to question them later, they would have a ready excuse.

Their own daughter suspected there was something strange about her birth mother’s death and wanted to find out the truth. No one could possibly object or interfere.

Not long after Lin Xizhao finished talking with her uncles and returned to her room, she heard a servant who had followed Qu Sheng and the others come to report that the young misses and the young master had gotten into a dispute with someone outside.

“Where are they now?” Lin Xizhao’s expression grew worried.

She wasn’t worried that they would be bullied in a dispute with outsiders; she was afraid that Zhao Jiayu would come to blows.

Zhao Jiayu’s temperament was truly too headstrong. If words didn’t agree, she could start a fight. She wouldn’t care who they were; she’d beat them up first to vent her anger and ask questions later. She had suffered quite a few losses, big and small, over the years because of this, but she still couldn’t change this bad habit.

“In Fangtuo Small Alley¹⁰ on East Street,” the servant replied.

Lin Xizhao first had someone prepare a carriage. When she reached the manor gate, she turned back and asked her third maternal uncle to go with her.

An official one rank higher crushes people to death¹¹. Although Lin Xizhao didn’t want to use power and influence to pressure people, she had felt a little uneasy after hearing the reason for the argument from the servant. It was always better to bring an adult along, and besides, her third uncle held a position in the prefectural yamen¹².

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped beside Fangtuo Small Alley. Before Lin Xizhao even got out, she heard someone shout in anger, “Since she has lost her chastity, she should apologize for the crime with death to protect my family’s reputation! What is improper about that?”

“Oh, listen to you, saying that with straight reason and strong qi¹³. Why don’t you ask her if she’s willing to die?” Zhao Jiayu had her sleeves rolled up, hands on her hips, shielding the woman inside a pig cage¹⁴ behind her. “Your family’s reputation? You can’t even protect the woman who entered your family’s gates, and you have the nerve to talk about reputation? I think the one who should apologize for the crime with death is you!”

Zhao Jiayu’s tongue was always unforgiving, and her voice was now powerful and resonant. Behind her, Xiao Bingying and Lin Xirui were trying to free the woman trapped in the pig cage.

And Qu Sheng was standing to the side, holding the jujube flower cakes, stuffing them into her mouth bite by bite, as if there was no one beside her…

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The author has something to say:

Zhao Jiayu: “Little eating-goods¹⁵.”

Qu Sheng: “You need a full stomach to have the strength to work. Want a bite?”

Lin Xizhao: “Didn’t you say you were bringing a portion back for me?”

Qu Sheng: “Wifey’s portion is in my mouth. Does wifey want a taste?”

Lin Xizhao: “……”

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