Lord Xu had just run back and forth, so he was sweating profusely. He lifted his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked, “What can I do now, my lord?”
The chest was heavy and the officers had not yet brought it back. Su Yunkai thought for a moment, then said, “Is the road back to Damingfu open yet?”
“It’s almost open.”
Su Yunkai twisted his eyebrows and thought carefully. Since the incident of the vase robbery, no one had left yet. Thus, no one knew that the stuff had been lost yet. The destination was the entrance to Zhuangjia. It was an eight-day ride from here. “Lord Xu, please do me a favor. After the road is reopened, I will escort the chest with the bodyguards to the destination. Only officially release the road to the public after four days.”
If they had a four-day head start, even messengers would not be able to catch up with them.
Lord Xu understood after a moment of thinking and whispered, “My lord wants to continue to use this chest of money as bait to catch the person who is receiving it?”
“Correct.”
Lord Xu had no idea what he would’ve done about this chest case. Now that a Damingfu official was willing to personally take on the gold robbery case, Lord Xu felt relieved.
Yang Jing had just lost his son, so he didn’t have the heart to care about this case. He sought out the second in charge, who wholeheartedly agreed to solve the troublesome business as early as possible. Therefore, aside from Yang An, the other nine would serve as escorts and Bai Shui would replace Yang An.
The road had not yet been opened. In order to get out as soon as possible, Su Yunkai didn’t go to the yamen. Instead, he directly set up a tent nearby and waited. The escorts were also nearby.
It was almost 9 AM when Qin Fang woke up, and even then, it was only because of the noisy bird calls outside. He yawned; he wanted to get out of bed, but then he heard Bai Shui’s voice outside the tent and stopped immediately.
Since the day they had opened their thoughts to each other, they hadn’t spoken. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it was that he didn’t know what to say.
It was impossible for Bai Shui to give up on investigating her brother’s affairs. Even if she knew that Su Yunkai was reliable, by her personality, she would not leave everything to him. This meant that she would have to gain entrance to Kaifeng by climbing in rank and then conducting her investigation. However, this meant she could never reveal her identity.
The moment he thought of his father, whose short-fused temper was like that of a tiger’s, he knew that he and Bai Shui had no future together.
Would he have to forgo his position of marquis?
He didn’t actually have that resolve.
He knew himself. He was good at eating and drinking. Ever since he was a child, he had never earned a piece of copper himself. He couldn’t even carry a hundred pounds, let alone support the two of them, especially once they had children in the future. If his father was more ruthless, Qin Fang probably wouldn’t even be able to do small business and would have someone watching him his whole life.
These days, he thought about these sorts of things countless times. Qin Fang sighed, long and hard, as if making up for all the sighs he had never released throughout his entire life.
People who practice martial arts always had more sensitive hearing. Ming Yue, who was talking with Bai Shui, didn’t hear, but Bai Shui heard it clearly. She gave a slight pause and glanced at the tent.
When she made the decision to make things clear to Qin Fang that day, she had made various preparations, including, of course, establishing a clear line between the two of them. Therefore, she was far calmer than Qin Fang regarding this situation. She was not bothered by the fact that he flinched upon meeting her eyes. She thought that once they returned to Damingfu, he would definitely find an excuse to leave. Then, they would never see each other again.
With that in mind, she felt a little disappointed and melancholic.
Ming Yue thought Bai Shui was tired, so she said, “You should go and rest. Once Lord Su comes back from the county yamen, he will definitely have more things for you to do.”
Bai Shui smiled. “I am not tired. After going to the yamen, I’ve rarely had time to talk to you properly. Now that I finally have free time, you’re driving me away.”
Ming Yue pursed her lips and laughed at Bai Shui. “You talk as though you constantly talk to me when you are not busy.”
Bai Shui laughed. “I will make it up to you, now.”
Seeing the tent behind Bai Shui move, Ming Yue glanced over and whispered, “Have you had a falling-out with the little Marquis?”
“It’s just that we spoke the truth to each other; we didn’t have a falling-out.”
“Then…”
“Ming Yue.” Bai Shui gently shook her head, not willing to discuss the matter any further. In Bai Shui’s opinion, the matter had come to an end and there was no need to mention it again. The more it was mentioned, the more her finally calm heart might ripple into huge waves again, making it difficult to sleep.
Ming Yue understood, so she didn’t mention it again. True, she shouldn’t be intervening in this kind of thing. Bai Shui and Qin Fang were both adults, so two of them could solve this matter between themselves. All Ming Yue had to do was wait for the result. After talking with Bai Shui for a little, Ming Yue entered her own tent.
Within half an hour, she heard the voice of Su Yunkai, who had returned. She peeked outside. He was facing away from her and was talking to Bai Shui about something. Sure enough, as soon as he came back, they had something to do. Those two were truly roly-poly toys, refusing to fall, even after not getting a wink of sleep.
She quietly retracted her head and lowered the tent curtain without disturbing them.
Once she noticed that it had gone quiet outside, she wanted to go out and have a look, but instead saw Bai Shui leaning in and holding a paper bag. Ming Yue looked at the round shape and asked with a smile, “Roast chicken?”
Bai Shui laughed. “You only know to eat.”
As she teased Ming Yue, Bai Shui handed the bag over and let Ming Yue personally open it. She untied the bag. There were three layers inside and three layers outside, such that the paper had formed a pile as she tore it apart. After peeling off the last layer, it turned out to be a pair of embroidered shoes with a rose design. She said happily, “Shui Shui, you’re the best. Knowing that I can’t wear these shoes anymore, you bought another pair for me.”
Bai Shui looked at her as though looking at a wooden sculpture. “Are you dumb? Since when did I leave here? How could I simply conjure up a pair of shoes for you?”
That was true. Ming Yue, who was testing the shoes, understood, “Lord Su?”
“Shh.” Bai Shui said, “Lord Su wouldn’t let me say it. I thought you could guess, but I didn’t expect to have to give you a tip…”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
Bai Shui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If one of them was daft, that was fine, but to think that they were both oblivious! Bai Shui sighed and shook her head. “Think about it yourself.”
Seeing that Bai Shui was looking at her as if she were an idiot, Ming Yue reacted, her pretty face blushing. Su Yunkai knew that her shoes could no longer be worn, so he went to the county yamen to buy a new pair. It was improper for people to know that a man had given a woman a pair of shoes. Afraid of embarrassing Ming Yue, Su Yunkai asked Bai Shui to quietly give the shoes to Ming Yue.
Bai Shui knew that it would be hard for herself to find someone like this. Seeing that Ming Yue was fortunate in this department, she patted her friend on the shoulder as if she were comforting herself. “Lord Su is a good man. Be more honest so there will be less misunderstandings.”
Ming Yue was completely ignorant about these kinds of things, but she was very keen on other people’s affairs. She whispered, “What’s wrong with you and little monkey? These days, he has become a new person. If I didn’t know better, I would think that you bullied him into silence.”
Bai Shui stared, “How did I bully him? I just wanted to let him understand that if he didn’t think through how to face the pressures that will come in the future, he shouldn’t get close to me.”
“But little monkey also has his own things to consider. He grew up in the capital, where the food and drink is both luxurious and expensive. This is like asking you to give up tracking your brother. Shui Shui, would you be able to give an answer at once? Don’t be disappointed with little monkey. Let him think for a few more days.”
“I understand.” Those who are closely involved cannot see as clearly as those looking in from the outside. Bai Shui finally understood. To think she had been laughing at Ming Yue’s stupidity earlier—they were clearly both idiots.
At noon, a fire was started to cook food. Smelling firewood, Ming Yue immediately went out to help and saw Su Yunkai standing there. She hesitated, but went over, “My lord.”
When Su Yunkai heard, he leaned aside and he subconsciously looked at her feet. Seeing that she had put on her shoes, he wanted to ask if they fit or not, but remembering that he had concealed the fact that he was the one who sent them, he didn’t say anything. On the other hand, Ming Yue said generously, “The shoes fit well.”
Su Yunkai immediately understood that he had been “betrayed” by Bai Shui, but seeing that she didn’t feel awkward, he was calm under the surprise. “That’s great.”
Afraid that Su Yunkai wouldn’t be used to living this way, Lord Xu had sent over two cooks, who were currently starting the fire to cook. Su Yunkai and Ming Yue were both were famished; they weren’t planning on going anywhere until they got their food.
After a while, the fire emitted white smoke, which was blown their way. Seeing that Ming Yue still stood there and that the smoke was floating over, Su Yunkai grabbed Mingyue’s wrist and pulled her to the side to avoid it.
Ming Yue said, “I’m starving.”
Su Yunkai agreed. “Me too.” It had been a long morning’s work.
Ming Yue smiled and then said, “Say, the deadline to reach the entrance to Zhuangjia is May First. What if no one comes to pick the goods up? What if the informer realizes the escort cart was lost, finds a chance to tell the employer, and then no one comes?”
“Is two hundred taels of gold a lot?”
“Of course. I couldn’t even make so much money in a lifetime.”
Su Yunkai said with a smile, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a lot of money. Qin Fang feels the same, even though he always receives gifts from the emperor. The lax deadline is not because the employer is not in a hurry; it’s because the goods are stolen. Safety over speed—it is better to be careful on the way. However, once it has arrived at the destination, the goods will be safe to some extent. At that time, the employer will be eager to show up and transport it home so that it can remain hidden. One is most reassured if they are kept in their sight.”
Ming Yue thought about it and said in relief, “I understand. Now, we only need the road to reopen so we can reach Zhuangjia before anyone else can come to any conclusions.”
Seeing that Ming Yue was full of fighting spirit, Su Yunkai smiled. Once the gold robbery was solved, they could return to Damingfu and he would let her have a nice, long rest.
.
A Hint of Spring 