n

n

nChapter 37 The Counterplot

nThe first thing Qin Yunuan did after returning to the Fuxi Courtyard was to take a look at Baochuan. Nurse Liao was guarding outside his room, and when she saw Qin Yunuan coming, she said to her in a soft voice, “Second Master has not woken up yet. He must be very sleepy last night.”

nQin Yunuan gave her a smile and walked straight into the room. While a cold blast of air poured into the room, Qin Baochuan still curled himself up in the quilt and remained unmoved.

n

n

nQin Yunuan took a seat beside Qin Baochuan’s bed. With a faint smile, her face was as still as the surface of a lake.

n“Having slept for a whole night, you should have had enough.” Qin Yunuan tipped the bedside and continued speaking, “You are not a sleepyhead. So, tell me, why do you pretend to be sleeping in front of father?”

nThe quilt moved slightly, but still, Qin Baochuan made no sound. After a while, a small head got out of the quilt and murmured, “Father? I don’t want such a father.”

nQin Yunuan covered his mouth hurriedly and warned him, “Walls have ears. You are too careless.”

n

n

nQin Baochuan’s eyes turned red. He pulled Qin Yunuan’s sleeves and vented his grievances. “For years, father has never come to see us. He even refused to see me when I came to pay respects to him. But today, he cared about the concubine so much that he got furious for her. So, what are we, sister?”

n“So, you pretended to sleep in nurse Liao’s arms to avoid seeing father?” Qin Baochuan was a timid and timorous boy in the previous life. Qin Yunuan thought that he might be braver and calmer than before, but she did not expect that the ignorance of Qin Zhi during these years had left a scar in his mind.

nHolding back the tears that were about to drip, Qin Baochuan nodded and then shrank his head into Qin Yunuan’s chest. He always reacted like this when he was afraid.

nBaochuan could not be like this any longer. Getting him straightened up, Qin Yunuan said seriously, “That’s what you think. I can understand that you did not want to see father because he ignored you. But what would other people think of you? They would take you as a weak and incapable young master who still had a good sleep when your parents were in danger. Being indifferent to the safety of parents is impiety.”

n

n

nQin Baochuan was shocked. He had never thought of that in this way. It could tell from his round face that he was thinking about what Qin Yunuan said deeply.

nQin Yunuan sighed and said, “You are a thoughtful child. You can learn to write on the sand and take cold showers, but why are you so upset with this little thing? You said that you would protect me when you grew up, did you forget that? So, be tough and brave. Do not escape again, OK?”

nQin Baochuan wiped away the tears in his eyes and said firmly, “My bad, sis. From now on, I will never run away like this. Father does not like me because of the rumors from other people, but I believe that if I work hard enough, I can change his attitude towards me.”

nBaochuan was still innocent. Qin Yunuan thought while touching the soft hair on Baochuan’s forehead. He could not understand that Qin Zhi’s bad attitude came beyond the rumors. But right now, it was better for him to think about it in this way.

nTheir intimate conversation did not last long, as nurse Liao knocked at the door and reported, “Third Miss, here come Concubine Chang and young master Su Chenghai.”

nRight now, Qin Yunuan was really exhausted after soothing Baochuan. A busy day of arrangements and plotting together with a restless night made her feel like breaking apart. But she bucked up again as soon as she heard that Concubine Chang and Su Chenghai were coming.

n

n

nIn the wing-room, Maner and Tong had served tea for the two guests. The tea was just some new Yinzhen of the medium quality. Though it was not expensive, the tea was much better than those tea dregs that she had been allocated before at the old courtyard.

nQin Yunuan had changed into an elegant light green cardigan with half sleeves and tied her hair up into a coil casually. At the sight of her, Concubine Chang stood up and came to her immediately, “I thought you might have slept, but this thing was too urgent, so I could not help but come to talk over with you.”

nQin Yunuan smiled and said, “We are just helping each other. Those courtesies are not needed.” At a glance at Su Chenghai who was sitting aside, Qin Yunuan made a curtsy and then said, “Thanks to cousin’s help, we finally made it.”

nSu Chenghai just waved his hand slightly, “Nothing big.”

nThe three of them all stayed up all night, but only Su Chenghai was still in good spirits. His eyes were brimming with radiating vigor, and his long arms were put on the knees uprightly that made the dark purple sleeves straight. However, his face was a little pale without the redness of the skin, looking a little bit weak.

nConcubine Chang stroked her chest, as if she had just escaped from a narrow death. “Speaking of that, was it not for the foresight of Third Miss, me and sister Liu must have been punished by rod beatings today. Thankfully, Third Miss had seen through the tricks of Dou Qing’e.”

nQin Yunuan sat down beside Concubine Chang and then said, “Dou Qing’e wanted to shoot three birds with one stone, so she asked Nanny Qiao and her servants to put the inferior charcoals into the stove that father and Concubine Li would use. She also mixed some white phosphorus into it so that there will be flames once it was lit up. Then, fire would be sure to break out in Hai Tang Courtyard due to the charcoal, and she could clear herself of the whole thing and regain the power of ruling family affairs. At the same time, she let Nanny Qiao frame you and Concubine Liu to make you fall out of favor. Judging from her usual acts, Nanny Qiao would not stay in the family any longer no matter she made it or not.”

n“She is really merciless.” Concubine Chang squeezed the embroidered handkerchief in her hand and hissed. Concubine Chang had always been praised by Qin Zhi for her integrity. She was reluctant to do such things, but it did not mean that she had no ability to fight back. This time, Dou Qing’e was going too far. Even if it was not for herself, she had to do something for Baoduan.

n

n

n“She thought the fire in the counting house was a godsend for her that destroyed all the fake accounts and gave her a chance to flaunt herself,” Qin Yunuan snorted, “She did not expect that we set fires to the counting house, just like what she did to the Hai Tang Courtyard. Concubine Chang, please put the transferred account books away in a safe place. One day, we will use these account books to reveal her of extorting the servants and practicing usury outside.”

nConcubine Chang was different from Concubine Liu. The latter one was just a servant girl at first who gained her status from her relationship with Qin Zhi. So, he could only be humble and obedient before him. In contrast, Concubine Chang was born in a business family that was wealthy enough to support her studies, and she had received an education for some years. She was sent to be Qin Zhi’s concubine by her father in exchange for a relationship with officials, because nowadays, officials had a much higher social status than businessmen. All in all, Concubine Chang was the perfect person to keep the account books.

n“Third Miss, the urgent thing I had mentioned has something to do with the account books.” Concubine Chang lowered her voice and whispered to Qin Yunuan, “I had learned bookkeeping from my father when I was not married. After a careful check, I found that there were some tricky things in the account books, to be correct, many tricky things. But what shocked me most was….” She drew out a slip of paper as she said this, on which there read “Pudu Temple.”

nQin Yunuan was a little confused, “Do you mean that Dou Qing’e may have something to do with the Pudu Temple?”

n“That’s right,” Concubine Chang replied, “I found in the account books that Dou Qing’e had been allocating a large amount of money to this temple as offerings every year.”

n“The abbot of this temple has been arrested secretly by General Leng Changxi because he had private deals with a killer organization in East Qin.” Su Chenghai said with a frown.

nQin Yunuan sighed. Her unloading heart was now being pressed by a heavy rock again. What she had gone through in this life was far more complex and darker than those in her previous life. She knew that since she had chosen this way, she had no chance to get back.

n“So, it is very likely that Dou Qing’e has raised a group of top killers in secret who will kill people under her command at any time?” Qin Yunuan uttered this sentence quietly. That being the case, Dou Qing’e would be far more horrible than she had imagined.

n“It’s not necessarily hers,” Su Chenghai seemed to be very clear about this, even clearer than business things, “The four major families in the regions south of the River all have their own forces that support them to stand for so many years. The Cui Family relies on its money shops all around the country and the Shen Family is due to its hereditary titles of nobility and contributions in suppressing rebellions. The Shangguan Family has the national treasure Shangguan Yi in command, while the Dou Family had no high-ranking officials for generations, though many of its family members were officials. So, it is not surprising to say that the Dou Family might have raised a group of killers.”

nQin Yunuan drew a deep breath for amazement. She stared at Su Chenghai, who was as calm as usual, and thought that he was really a deep-minded person. He never said much, but actually, he knew far more things than any other people. He was like a black hole that had the power to absorb other things, but never had he shown his real abilities like today.

n“Cousin?” Qin Yunuan called him with a question intonation.

nSu Chenghai turned to her slowly but avoided her intoxicating pupils on purpose. He had tried for so many times to refrain from his outpouring emotions, but it seemed that he had failed every time.

n“Did you mention General Leng Changxi just now?”

n

n

nSu Chenghai quivered slightly and then put on a cold look. His wondering eyes were lit up, but the light faded in no time. “Why?” He said.

n“Nothing,” Qin Yunuan smiled, “It’s just that you had never mentioned General Leng before. The way you called him made me feel that you are familiar with him.”

n“Oh, we did meet a few times.” Su Chenghai did not want to lie.

nConcubine Chang was worried about Qin Baoduan who was left in the yard by her. She took leave of them after a short stay and told Qin Yunuan to be careful. It made her tremble when she thought that Dou Qing’e might have many top killers under her command.

n