The Prime Minister’s Daughter and the Marquis’s Fool – Chapter 34

What Does Fifth Maternal Uncle Mean by That?

Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng were brought to the Marquis Qu Residence. Qu Sheng sat to one side, listening as Qu Ting and Qu Yu asked Lin Xizhao a few questions about whether Liang-shi¹ had acted abnormally in any way before her death.

Lin Xizhao thought back two years. “Mother wasn’t acting abnormally at the time, nor had she gotten into any conflicts. She hardly even went to the palace.” Previously, the Empress had summoned her frequently. But after Liang-shi went one time, she rarely went again upon her return. It seemed likely that she had explained the reason to the Empress, and the Empress, being considerate, did not continue to summon her.

Hearing this, Qu Ting asked, “Then did she meet any outsiders?” People she did not often see or had never met before.

Lin Xizhao lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, but Mother’s health seemed a bit poor during that period.”

“Did she see a physician? And which one?” As soon as Qu Yu heard Lin Xizhao say Liang-shi’s health was poor, a dozen thoughts raced through his mind.

If she wasn’t feeling well, why did she go horseback riding?

“She saw a physician, who prescribed some medicine. She was much better after taking a few doses.” Lin Xizhao had been young at the time. Her mother was listless all day long during that period. Although she had been busy with her studies in the rear courtyard’s schoolhouse, she would rush back to check on her mother every day after class, so she remembered it with particular clarity.

Recalling the physician, Lin Xizhao said, “I believe it was the manager of Dehou Hall² himself. He came to see her in person.”

“Dehou Hall?” Qu Ting tried to remember where it was located in the capital.

“Is this manager’s surname Xu?” Qu Yu had some impression of the man. He had come to their own residence to make a house call before, though it was many years ago.

Lin Xizhao lowered her eyes and pondered for a few moments before saying, “I believe so.”

No one had ever asked her these things before. When the officials from the Capital Prefecture Yamen³ had come, they only asked Lin Jianhai some other questions. And since she was still young then, no one would have thought to ask her.

“Elder brothers, are you asking all this because you have a clue?” After being asked a series of questions, Lin Xizhao now also wanted to know if there had been any substantial progress regarding the cause of her mother’s death.

Qu Ting heard her and replied, “It would not be to your benefit to be questioned in a public court, so Uncle told us to ask you here.”

“Adoptive Father⁴?” Lin Xizhao hadn’t seen Qu Jinian at all since arriving. Wasn’t he supposed to have returned to the capital? Why wasn’t he back at the residence?

Qu Yu saw Lin Xizhao’s puzzled expression and said, “Uncle is currently guarding the witness we brought back to the capital. He can’t get away right now.”

Qu Jinian, a Marquis, has to stand guard himself?

“Did you run into some trouble on the way here?” Lin Xizhao guessed the problem in an instant.

“Yes, we were ambushed on the way into the capital. Fortunately, we had already swapped the person out and took advantage of the chaos to send them into the city. They’re under careful watch right now,” Qu Ting explained.

After asking a few more questions, Qu Yu and Qu Ting told Lin Xizhao to wait and then left the residence. The two brothers went to Dehou Hall to look for the manager, but they didn’t find him.

Lin Xizhao stayed at the Marquis Qu Residence instead of going back, so Qu Sheng naturally remained with her at her own family’s home. Compared to the Lin Residence, there was much more Qu Sheng could do in her own residence.

While Lin Xizhao was still lost in all sorts of speculation about her mother’s death, Qu Sheng had already found an excuse to quietly go to the residence where the person Qu Jinian brought back was staying.

The person had been brought back, and though they hadn’t been sent to the authorities, news that they were in the capital had been spread.

The highwaymen outside the capital were all highly skilled. It was a good thing they had swapped the witness out, otherwise they really wouldn’t have been able to protect them.

Qu Jinian had some theories about this, but he couldn’t act rashly just yet. However, he did put out a rumor that this person had seen the murderer and that he was looking for a talented artist to draw a portrait of the culprit.

Qu Sheng stayed at the residence for a short while. It was unknown what the father and daughter spoke of in the room, but Qu Sheng left in a hurry.

That evening, Qu Ting and Qu Yu, bringing Lin Xizhao and Qu Sheng with them, once again went to the witness’s residence under the cover of darkness.

Lin Xizhao returned to the Lin Residence with Qu Sheng that night and acted as if nothing had happened, going to the rear courtyard’s schoolhouse and laughing and playing with Zhao Jiayu and the others as usual.

Yu-shi hadn’t gone looking for Lin Xizhao these past few days either, though her second son, Lin Xirui, had sought Lin Xizhao out a few times to ask some questions about his essays.

The sweltering weather gradually cooled, with the heat only lingering for a little while around noon. The lotus flowers in the Lin Residence’s pond had long since withered. Only some lotus leaves remained, some of which had already begun to decay, turning yellow and brittle.

Lin Xizhao sat in the courtyard pavilion, one hand cupping her chin, watching as Qu Sheng held a lotus leaf on her head. She had her bare feet dipped in the lake water, kicking them back and forth. Every so often she would smile and glance at Lin Xizhao, who would return her smile.

If her mother were still here, perhaps she too could be as carefree as Qu Sheng. But there was no going back. Her mother was dead, and now she didn’t even know who the murderer was. Her nonchalance these past few days was all an act.

Qu Jinian had told her that the witness knew nothing and had not seen her mother’s spirit. But this person’s existence was extremely important.

That day outside the capital, they had created a big scene but failed to catch the people they wanted. Those people were extremely cunning; seeing they had walked into an ambush, they retreated without the slightest hesitation. But even if Qu Jinian had caught them, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get anything out of them.

But they had proved one thing.

Liang-shi’s death was no accident.

The news Qu Sheng had first received by the river on North Bridge Street was because that person had mistaken her for someone asking about the cause of Liang-shi’s death.

Although Qu Sheng didn’t get any information about the murderer, she learned that Liang-shi’s death was not an accident. And the trap Qu Jinian had set confirmed this point.

It wasn’t easy to reinvestigate a case from several years ago. It was already a great feat that they had managed to find some clues based only on a few words and Lin Xizhao’s suspicions.

When Qu Jinian had initially agreed to take on the case, he hadn’t been completely confident. It was Qu Sheng’s constant persuasion at his side that made Qu Jinian swallow his pride and fight for the opportunity.

There was no movement from her maternal uncles’ side of the Liang family yet, but that didn’t mean they would remain silent forever. Qu Jinian had already sent someone to contact them, and they should be arriving in the capital in the next couple of days.

Seeing Qu Sheng playing so happily, Lin Xizhao got up, lifted her skirts, and sat down beside her.

Lin Xizhao took off her shoes, adjusted her skirt, and placed her own pair of pale, jade-like feet into the water.

Qu Sheng gazed at Lin Xizhao’s gentle cheeks, which were excessively rosy under the setting sun. Qu Sheng stared, momentarily stunned. Noticing that Lin Xizhao seemed a bit hot and was fanning herself with her hand, she quickly took the lotus leaf from her own head and gave it to Lin Xizhao.

With the lotus leaf now shading her head, Lin Xizhao smiled and looked up, then set the leaf aside. She scooted closer to Qu Sheng, picked up the leaf again, and held it over both of them.

Gazing at the smile on Lin Xizhao’s face, Qu Sheng didn’t know when it had started, but she had lost all resistance to Lin Xizhao’s gentle smile. As long as Lin Xizhao smiled at her, her heart would soften.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Xizhao asked softly, noticing Qu Sheng staring at her.

At her words, Qu Sheng snapped out of her daze. She lowered her head to look at the cool water of the pond, but when she saw Lin Xizhao’s jade-like feet swaying in the water, she froze again for a second before averting her gaze.

Seeing Qu Sheng in a daze so often today, Lin Xizhao thought she was unhappy. After a moment, she bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and sprinkled it on Qu Sheng.

Caught off guard, Qu Sheng flinched from the cool water. When she turned her head, she saw Lin Xizhao smiling at her. After a moment of shock, she also bent down, scooped up water from the pond, and splashed it onto Lin Xizhao.

Lin Xizhao dodged with a laugh, pulling the lotus leaf over to block the water. She seized the opportunity to scoop up more water and splash it back. The two of them played like this, getting their clothes mostly soaked.

Finally, it was Lin Xizhao who laughingly called for a stop, and only then did Qu Sheng lower the handful of water she held.

Qu Sheng got up first and, with her bare feet, helped Lin Xizhao up. As they looked at each other, both with half-damp hair plastered to their heads, and were about to laugh, they heard Yu-shi’s voice.

“Why are you playing in the water? It’s filthy and smelly. Is this how a young lady from a great family should behave? If someone saw you, our Lin family couldn’t bear the shame.” Yu-shi’s sharp words came from behind Qu Sheng.

Although there was mud at the bottom of the lotus pond, the surface water was clear. Besides, who besides the Lin family would come to this part of the garden? Yu-shi’s words sounded like she was deliberately trying to pick a fight.

The smile on Lin Xizhao’s face had completely vanished. When Qu Sheng turned around, the smile on her lips had also faded. She looked at this woman with a growing sense of disgust.

“Auntie Yu,” Lin Xizhao curtsied. Although she suspected Yu-shi had drugged her and Qu Sheng, she had no definitive proof. For this woman to come over now and speak so critically was a rare occurrence.

Yu-shi looked at Lin Xizhao’s delicate appearance, so much like her mother’s, and glanced away. “Your father had me investigate the matter of the servants drugging you. There were one or two whose hands and feet were not clean⁵, but we couldn’t get any evidence. I’ve already kicked them out. You’ll have to be more careful yourself in the future.”

Not only had the matter with the Marquis of Yongshen failed, but Lin Jianhai had given her a talking-to. He had given her face in the main hall, but behind closed doors, he had reprimanded her. Although it was only a light scolding, half of her authority as the household manager had been transferred to Steward Chang. She could no longer interfere with purchasing for the kitchens and other matters. Yu-shi thus vented her resentment on Lin Xizhao.

Lin Xizhao lowered her head. Though her voice was gentle, it lacked its former respect as she spoke superficially polite words. “Thank you for your trouble, Auntie Yu.”

Although she had no proof, she was already suspicious and more than half-certain that Yu-shi was behind it. It was impossible for her to treat the woman with the same warmth as before.

Seeing that Lin Xizhao was no longer as deferential as she used to be, Yu-shi also tempered her arrogance. “What’s so bad about the Marquis of Yongshen’s residence? His son may be no good, but if you married over, you could give birth to a son and inherit their family’s title. Besides, your two younger brothers could also benefit from your care, no? Now that’s fine, you’ve tied a beam with them⁶. I’m afraid you won’t find such a good family for the rest of your life.” Yu-shi still felt a bit of regret about it.

As Yu-shi said these nauseating things, Lin Xizhao furrowed her brow. She looked up and met Yu-shi’s gaze for a moment. “So, when Auntie Yu asked me to go over this time, you knew the young master of the Marquis of Yongshen’s family was there?”

Yu-shi quickly retorted, “I certainly did not! Don’t you go falsely accusing people. If I had known the Marquis of Yongshen was going to such lengths, I wouldn’t have listened to you and just refused him outright in the first place. Then they wouldn’t have had to resort to this path.” Yu-shi muttered the last sentence under her breath, as if she truly had been unaware.

Lin Xizhao said nothing. Though she didn’t look angry, her complete lack of expression was enough to show that she was.

Seeing this, Yu-shi was about to say something to smooth things over when she felt a sharp pain in her waist and was sent flying through the air.

Qu Sheng, who had appeared behind Yu-shi at some point, had lifted her foot and kicked her into the water.

Yu-shi couldn’t swim. She struggled and thrashed in the shallow lotus pond, her face covered with water weeds and mud as she stretched out her hands, crying for help. Lin Xizhao glanced at Yu-shi in the pond, stunned for a moment, then looked back at Qu Sheng in a panic.

Qu Sheng stood to the side, watching Yu-shi sink and struggle without a change in expression, showing no intention of helping.

The pond wasn’t deep, but for someone who couldn’t swim and had lost their balance upon falling in, it was undoubtedly a disaster.

Lin Xizhao couldn’t swim either, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch something happen to Yu-shi. She lifted her skirt to jump in but was stopped by Qu Sheng. “Jiejie.”

Lin Xizhao turned her head and looked at Qu Sheng frantically. “Something bad will happen! Auntie Yu can’t swim.”

Lin Xizhao knew Qu Sheng had just been venting her anger for her, and she didn’t blame her, but this was taking it a bit too far.

Qu Sheng held onto Lin Xizhao’s skirt, refusing to let her go in. Just as Lin Xizhao was getting anxious, someone else jumped into the water before she could.

Hearing the extra splash, Lin Xizhao turned to look and saw that it was her youngest maternal uncle, who had just gotten married recently.

Liang Lianhui entered the water and, in a few steps, reached the sputtering Yu-shi, who had already swallowed a good deal of dirty water. He grabbed her by the collar from behind, lifted her up, and threw her onto the bank.

Yu-shi collapsed on the ground, spitting out foul water. After coming ashore, Liang Lianhui, the youngest Liang uncle, didn’t even glance at her. He only asked Lin Xizhao, “Are you two alright?”

Lin Xizhao had gone to check on Yu-shi. Hearing his voice, she looked up and said, “Fifth Uncle, we’re fine.”

Liang Lianhui had seen Qu Sheng kick Yu-shi into the water when he arrived. The little one wasn’t big, but her kicks packed quite a punch.

The Lin Residence’s steward had come with him. Originally, the steward had only come to inform Yu-shi that her husband’s youngest brother-in-law had arrived, but who would have thought the man would follow him right over?

It was a good thing he had. Otherwise, the mistress of the house would have swallowed a lot more water.

“Steward Chang, hurry and send for a physician,” Lin Xizhao said when she saw the steward standing by anxiously. Yu-shi didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, but the water was cold in the afternoon, and it was hard to say if she had been frightened or would catch a cold.

The steward immediately rushed off to send for a physician and had people carry Yu-shi back to her room.

After Yu-shi was carried away, Lin Xizhao looked at her young uncle. “Fifth Uncle, please come with me to change into some clean clothes.” Yu-shi was covered in mud, but so was her uncle.

The fifth Liang uncle nodded. “Alright.”

Lin Xizhao took a few steps, then remembered Qu Sheng. She walked back to her side and took the hand of the little one who was still standing there, staring at her back, seemingly aware of the trouble she had caused.

Yu-shi would definitely not let today’s matter rest.

Lin Xizhao had someone find a set of clean clothes. Though they didn’t fit perfectly, they would have to do. After washing up and changing, Liang Lianhui went to the courtyard that had belonged to Lin Xizhao’s mother.

When Liang Lianhui was still a boy, he had often come here. Lin Xizhao was very close to this young uncle.

Lin Xizhao poured tea for Liang Lianhui and asked, “Fifth Uncle, why did you come so suddenly?”

Liang Lianhui replied, “It was your adoptive father who wrote, asking our Liang family to come. I was anxious, so I came ahead of your other uncles.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Qu Sheng, who was sitting to the side eating snacks. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Does she know martial arts?” That kick just now sent Yu-shi flying. Although he hadn’t seen it clearly, for a child to be able to kick an adult like that, she must have been trained.

Lin Xizhao glanced at the now well-behaved, snacking Qu Sheng, and said with some embarrassment, “Sheng’er has learned a little, but it’s for strengthening her body.” Lin Xizhao didn’t want to lie to her uncle, but she also didn’t want word of Qu Sheng’s martial arts to spread, so she compromised.

Liang Lianhui nodded and then got to the main reason for his visit. “I heard there’s been progress in your mother’s case. How have you been holding up in the residence these days?” It must be difficult for her, knowing that her mother was indeed murdered by someone. This was also why Liang Lianhui had rushed over.

Lin Xizhao replied, “Everything is fine, Fifth Uncle. You don’t need to worry.”

Liang Lianhui nodded, then suddenly remembered why Qu Sheng had kicked Yu-shi. “Why did little Sheng’er treat your stepmother like that just now?” Liang Lianhui was still unaware of the sordid things that had happened to Lin Xizhao.

“She harmed Jiejie,” Qu Sheng said, her mouth full.

Hearing this, Liang Lianhui looked over, the gentle expression on his face vanishing in an instant. “Little Sheng’er, what do you mean by that?”

Lin Xizhao hadn’t wanted to bring it up. Talking about things without proof would only add to their troubles. But now that Qu Sheng had blurted it out, she had no choice but to recount the recent events one by one.

“That Yu-shi, I’ve never liked the look of her!” Liang Lianhui said and stood up, ready to go settle scores with Yu-shi.

Liang Lianhui wasn’t as clever as his older sister, but he was highly skilled in martial arts. Though he wasn’t a reckless person, the moment he heard his beloved niece had been wronged so grievously, he was consumed by rage and wanted to confront Yu-shi immediately.

“Fifth Uncle, the matter isn’t clear yet, and we don’t have any evidence. If you go over like this, Auntie Yu won’t admit to anything.” Lin Xizhao had some understanding of Yu-shi. From her words just now, she seemed to have confirmed her involvement. But without evidence, even if she told her own father, he wouldn’t believe her.

“So we just let it go?” Liang Lianhui frowned, his sleeves already half rolled up. He couldn’t swallow this insult.

Qu Sheng looked at Lin Xizhao’s uncle, an idea forming in her mind. Having been humiliated today, Yu-shi would definitely go and complain to Lin Jianhai. But she was just a “fool.” Even if Yu-shi said she was the one who kicked her, as long as no one else said they saw it, no one would believe it. Just now, she had made sure Steward Chang hadn’t seen it. If others could deny things, so could she.

Lin Xizhao shook her head. “I’ll be on my guard against her from now on. Now is not the time to stir up more trouble.” Right now, she just wanted to find out the truth behind her mother’s death.

Hearing this, a thought suddenly struck Liang Lianhui. “I heard that your father and this Yu-shi knew each other many years ago. Is that true?”

Liang Lianhui had only heard this recently and wasn’t sure.

Lin Xizhao looked at her fifth uncle, perplexed. “Fifth Uncle, what do you mean by that?”

Liang Lianhui wasn’t much older than Lin Xizhao. He thought for a few moments before saying, “This Yu-shi knew your father long before your mother ever met him. You didn’t know about this?”

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The author has something to say:

Qu Sheng: “Oh, this tattletale mouth of mine.”

Lin Xizhao: “My favorite little mouth.”

Qu Sheng: “If you like it so much, why don’t you kiss it?”

Author: “JJ⁷ doesn’t allow minors to be in a relationship, you know. Kissing is even more out of the question.”

Qu Sheng: “!!!”

Actually, at this point, Qu Sheng has already fallen for Lin Xizhao, but she doesn’t understand her own feelings, which are just beginning to sprout. Once she comes of age, these feelings will blossom naturally, having already accumulated to a state of rampant growth, completely uncontrollable and irreversible.

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