Chapter 90: A Contingency Plan
The carriage curtain fluttered in the wind, swaying.
Before my eyes, Dou Ya seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds.
Eighteen Slopes, flowers bloomed by human blood, could be lively.
He had walked through a hail of blades, a seasoned warrior, an all-powerful Eunuch.
He glanced at Qin Mingxu and said, “Go back with my Elder Sister.”
Not far away, Qin Mingxu, though heavily wounded, showed no intention of retreating.
“Director Feng risked himself for my wife, how could I flee?”
I leaned on the carriage door and looked at him. He shook his head at me resolutely.
I knew his mind was made up.
The coachman urged the horses with all his might, cracking the whip. The carriage began to move.
“Dou Ya, Mingxu, I’ll wait for you to return—”
The valley stretched my voice thin and broken.
Eighteen Slopes receded into the distance.
Through the clouds and mist, it was difficult to see.
I retreated into the carriage and sat down.
Cherry nestled beside me and said, “Yu Niang, don’t worry.”
I hugged her, looking at her bloody little hands, and said softly, “It will be alright once we get home.”
She nodded obediently.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped before the Qin Manor gate.
I entered with Cherry and ordered the servants to call for a doctor.
Before long, the doctor arrived, applied medicine to Cherry, and bandaged her wounds. I carried her to the bed. She was exhausted and fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow. Before sleeping, she held my hand. In her sleep, she shivered. Like a small animal lacking security.
After all, she was just a Child. The bloody scene tonight must have greatly frightened her.
I gently patted her back, comforting her.
The climbing vines had not yet withered, entwined. I leaned on the pillow, counting the hours. What was the situation on Shenju Mountain now? When would they return?
Several times the wind made the door creak softly. I got out of bed barefoot and went to the door, looking out.
There was nothing but the vast night.
Over there, Feng Gao engaged in a fierce battle, screams echoing in a continuous stream.
He had learned martial arts from Eunuch Cao since childhood. His skills were extraordinary. His movements were like fleeting shadows, each step a killing blow.
Zou Cheng’s rabble were either dead or wounded.
He fled in terror towards the dense forest.
Feng Gao leaped up, his hands like eagle claws gripping him.
“Do you think you can leave tonight?”
The moon had completely disappeared behind the clouds.
It was pitch black all around.
Zou Cheng could not clearly see the expression on Feng Gao’s face. He said with disgust and fear, “Feng Gao, you demon! It was you who instigated Qin Mingxu to impersonate Minister Zhang’s son at the Zhang Manor! You harm loyal officials! You will not have a good end! Those who do much injustice will perish by their own hand!”
Feng Gao had always harbored resentment over Minister Zhang’s death.
Everyone in The World believed Minister Zhang died by his hand.
This had become the greatest stain on him.
But at this moment, he disdained to explain to Zou Cheng.
The moment Zou Cheng laid a hand on Elder Sister, in his heart, Zou Cheng was no different from a dead man.
The blade in his sleeve was about to be released.
Zou Cheng suddenly shouted, “Feng Gao, you care so much about Zhu Sangyu, have you thought about her family being destroyed?”
Feng Gao stopped.
Zou Cheng pointed at Qin Mingxu beside him and said, “I have already handed the Evidence of this man murdering the Troupe Leader to my confidant. Tonight, if I die here, tomorrow, the Petition will immediately appear at the Government Office!”
Qin Mingxu lowered his head. Zou Cheng had made preparations and had no intention of letting him off the hook.
Feng Gao said coldly, “Even if I turn Yangzhou City upside down, I will find that person.”
Zou Cheng said with finality, “You won’t find him. It’s impossible to find him.”
He seemed to have grasped the trump card.
His certainty made Feng Gao hesitate slightly. Could Zou Cheng’s confidant be someone from the Government Office?
Zou Cheng sneered, “Director Feng, your deep affection is wasted on being an Eunuch.”
That sentence was like a snake hidden deep within, colorful and sticky, slithering towards Feng Gao’s heart.
Many things in this world have no discernible cause and cannot withstand deep scrutiny.
His broken body could not be mended.
He would never be able to become a normal man.
Deep affection.
Did these two words have anything to do with him?
He was merely a Younger Brother, hiding behind the screen of family affection to protect her.
Qin Mingxu seemed to have made a great decision and said, “Let him expose it. At this point, I am no longer afraid. Whatever happens, happens. I accept it. I only beg Director…”
He paused, “I only beg Director to take care of Sang Yu and the Child.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a sudden sense of relief.
The stone that had been pressing on his back for so long seemed to have been removed.
Why endure being controlled?
A man dares to act and dares to take responsibility.
He had returned to being the carefree and unrestrained Young Master Qin he once was.
Whether to kill or to torture, he would face it all.
Feng Gao, however, said sternly, “No. You cannot be harmed. Elder Sister is waiting for you at home.”
As they argued, there was a rustling sound from the nearby bushes. Zou Cheng rejoiced and suddenly broke free from Feng Gao’s grasp. Several masked men flew out from the bushes, grabbed Zou Cheng, and fled.
Feng Gao thought for a moment, beckoned a Guard, and whispered a few words in his ear. The Guard moved lightly and followed in the direction of the masked men and Zou Cheng.
Feng Gao instructed him to follow Zou Cheng closely, trace the clues, find the Evidence, and destroy it.
This was the most reliable method.
It could protect Qin Mingxu.
Having done all this, he said calmly to Qin Mingxu, “You should go back quickly.”
“And you?” Qin Mingxu asked.
“I, of course, will do what I must. Tell Elder Sister I am safe, that will be enough.”
Qin Mingxu nodded and stumbled down the mountain.
Feng Gao returned to the mountain stronghold.
The matter of Recruit and Pacify was not yet finished; his task was not yet complete.
The sky, unknowingly, brightened.
The night had passed just like that.
The blood on the ground soaked the grass and trees.
The grass and trees swayed in the breaking dawn light.
The cold sky, the sparse red leaves.
The empty greenness dampens one’s clothes.
All sounds faded into silence. Only the roosting birds, the chirping insects, the arriving and departing geese had witnessed so many entanglements, so many thoughts, so much complexity, so many sighs.
In my light sleep, I felt a pair of hands stroking my hair.
I opened my eyes and saw Qin Mingxu had returned.
It had been a long time since he had slept in the bedroom since we started sleeping in separate beds.
I quickly sat up: “Mingxu, how is the situation now?”
He embraced me and said, “It’s alright. Sang Yu, don’t be nervous, you might injure the fetus.”
I touched my belly and said, “The doctor said the pregnancy is stable, it’s nothing. I suppose this Child will be a very strong Child.”
I asked again, “Where is Dou Ya? Why didn’t she come back with you?”
He said softly, “Director Feng said he would come down the mountain after finishing the Recruit and Pacify matter.”
I thought for a moment and said, “That’s fine. Has the Zou Cheng situation been resolved?”
He said, “It’s resolved. Don’t worry.”
“Sang Yu, every time we go through danger together, I worry I won’t see you again.” He held me even tighter.
I smelled the scent of blood on him and remembered how he had risked everything for me. It seemed that all the hardships had been filled with soft willow catkins.
I pointed at the sleeping Cherry and said, “Mingxu, her name is Cherry. From now on, she is our daughter.”
“Okay,” Qin Mingxu said.
He didn’t even ask about Cherry’s identity or origin. If I said she was our daughter, then she was.
The single word “Okay” conveyed a thousand emotions, full of love.
“Mingxu,” I called him.
In this marriage, he had given me immense care and affection, leaving me no longer tormented by incomprehensible anxieties. He had fulfilled the promise he made by the riverbank. Always trust. Never suspect.
As a Husband, he was dutiful.
As a lover, he gave his all.
How could I not treat him with all my heart?
“Mingxu, stay here tonight. Sleep with me and Cherry, okay?” I gently rubbed my forehead against his stubbled chin.
In the past, I had never shown such innocent affection in front of him.
He lay down and said tenderly, “Okay.”
The resentment in his eyes gradually dissipated.
It was as if white clouds rose in a mirror, and the bright moon descended before the steps.
