Chapter 54: Gold Robbery (III)

By the time Su Yunkai and Ming Yue had returned to the inn, Qin Fang was still wandering aimlessly. Ming Yue set the roast chicken she bought on the table and asked, “Isn’t today the deadline for receiving the goods? If the person who is collecting the goods never shows up, then will we never be able to catch the corrupt official?”

“Not necessarily.” Su Yunkai had been standing in front of the window. He opened a small gap and peered outside. “That scholar must know me. Otherwise, he would not have immediately run away after seeing me.”

Ming Yue’s willow eyebrows twisted. “I didn’t quite believe it earlier when you said it was a corrupt official, but I do now.”

Su Yunkai asked with a smile, “Why?”

“You have been in Damingfu for only a month or two. It is impossible for ordinary people to recognize you when it is your first time out and about. Officials are more likely to recognize you than ordinary people.”

“I have been in Kaifeng since I became an official. People who recognize me were most likely sent from Kaifeng.” With this reminder, Su Yunkai remembered, “If we want to investigate, we should probably start from all the expatriated officials.”

Ming Yue put her head in front of the window. Su Yunkai could see the small bead hairpin in her hair.

“Don’t you think that person must have sent someone to look us up?”

He regained his sense.  “It’s possible, but it wouldn’t be regarding our relation to the stolen gold.”

“Then would they investigate?”

Su Yunkai explained, “I’ve been out here for more than forty days, which means that I’ve been out of the news for a long time. Now that I’m here secretly, they may think I’m still touring the counties. After all, there was no news of me coming here, since the mountain road was blocked. I asked Lord Xu to open it a few days later. Therefore, they did not know that gold had been robbed, let alone that this gold has already been identified as stolen goods. It’s just that they happened to see me there and didn’t dare do anything.”

“But the escort carriage arrived on the last day. Do they really not have any doubts?”

“If they did, they wouldn’t have stood so openly near the carriage. If they did, they would’ve cut off all ties to this matter so as to avoid being investigated.”

Ming Yue understood. Her eyes suddenly brightened. “Then we can go to yamen openly and pretend to patrol while in fact waiting to catch that scholar.”

“There are so many expatriated officials that I can hide my intentions of checking on him specifically. If I went to check on him out of the blue, that would alarm him.”

“Then what should we do?”

Su Yunkai looked down at her and replied, “Let’s just go to the yamen for inspection. We can let Qin Fang…” After a pause, he continued. “Let Qin Fang go inform Constable Bai secretly that she must take good care of the escort chariot. Anyone who wants to get close to the escort cart must be caught.”

“…… Let the little marquis go?” Ming Yue was confused, “He probably wants to sink into the ground whenever he sees Shui Shui. I’ll go. Otherwise, Shui Shui would be uncomfortable.”

“Today, the scholar saw me. I can’t be sure if he remembered you, either. If he did and you went to talk to the people in the escort agency, then the snake would go into hiding before we even lured it out of its hole.” 

Although Su Yunkai knew that the atmosphere between Qin Fang and Bai Shui was awkward, Qin Fang was the most suitable person. Su Yunkai also thought that this would be a nice opportunity for them to stop hiding from each other and instead work to resolve the problem, even if it was to be clear that they wanted to cut off all future relations. The earlier, the better.

—-

It was nighttime when Qin Fang came to the inn. On his way back, he had walked past Bai Shui’s inn. He couldn’t resist taking a look inside. He hadn’t planned on seeing her, but who knew that she happened to be eating with the other bodyguards. The bodyguards constantly traveled in all conditions, so their skin was dark and rough. On the other hand, Bai Shui seemed as pure as a white lotus sitting amongst them.

The others laughed and joked around. She was the only one who ate quietly.

Bai Shui’s hair was all pulled up on the top of her head and tied with only a gray hair band. Her simple clothing was in line with her cold nature. Qin Fang remembered the day he nearly saw her cry when he discovered the truth about her identity.

Qin Fang stood across the street and looked at her for a long time. He didn’t leave until she went upstairs after dinner. On the way back, he remembered that he had not had dinner. He was very hungry.

Bai Shui…

He thought and recited the name the entire way back. As soon as he entered the inn, he was hit in the face by something. He regained his wits and looked around angrily, but he didn’t see who it was. He was about to walk inside, but he was hit by another stone. If not for his good upbringing, he would’ve started cursing by now.

“Shhh. Shhh.”

He followed the sound and looked around the corner. A forehead was exposed and a set of eyes indicated that he should look at his feet. Only half of the face was revealed, but he recognized it as Ming Yue immediately. He helplessly looked around his feet. Then, he found the ball of paper that had been thrown at his head.

“… We live next door to each other. Is this necessary… ” He muttered and picked it up. When he saw the big words on it, he almost jumped up and wanted to race over to insult Ming Yue.

She knew that for Qin Fang, seeing Bai Shui was like a cat seeing a tiger, yet she was still asking him to send this message? Did she even consider him her friend?

Ming Yue saw his face change suddenly and clasped her hands together to plead for his understanding. Qin Fang knew that she was not a girl who ignored people’s feelings. It was likely his brother-in-law’s idea, which meant that it must’ve been about the gold. Otherwise, the note wouldn’t be telling Bai Shui to stay at the inn. It also wouldn’t tell Qin Fang himself to find another place to live. 

He had no choice but to put the note away, rubbing his forehead as he walked to the inn where Bai Shui lived.

It was quite a long way back. Having to go there again was like asking him to reach the boundaries of the sky. He walked for a long time before arriving. He went to the counter to ask for a room from the innkeeper.

“It seems that there are many people living upstairs, walking around,” Qin Fang noted.

The shopkeeper said with a smile, “Today, a team of escorts came. All of them are strong and muscular. They walk powerfully. I hope you won’t mind it, sir.”

Qin Fang said with a smile, “We all need to make a living. How could I mind? However, the escorts are not necessarily strong. One of the escorts I know is very small, but he is the chief escort and all the others listen to him.” With that, he then threw a silver tael at the innkeeper. “I’ll stay here for three days. Send food and drinks to my room. If this is not enough, I can add more. If this is extra, I don’t need change.”

Seeing that his clothes were bright and that he was extravagant, the shopkeeper smiled. “Don’t mention it, gongzi. In the escort team, they do indeed listen to a shorter man, handsome and well-mannered.”

“That’s good. I’m afraid of noise, but I’m too lazy to leave. Why don’t you just arrange my room next to him, so as not to avoid being disturbed by noise at night.”

The shopkeeper thought for a while and said, “There is a vacant room next door, but there is not much ventilation. Look, gongzi…”

Qin Fang waved his hand, “It’s okay. I’ll stay there then. Quieter is better. It’ll be fine. A little stuffiness never killed anyone.”

The shopkeeper laughed and led the way. “Gongzi indeed exaggerates. How could it be stuffy to that extent?”

Qin Fang followed the shopkeeper upstairs with a smile. He had smoothly discovered Bai Shui’s room, which would save him the trouble of exposing the fact that he was looking for her. But he found it strange—why did they want him to secretly tell her? Had something happened?

Right… since the escort cart was still there, that meant no one had come to pick up the goods. Clearly, the case was not over.

No wonder he was asked to sneakily get to Bai Shui.

He entered the room and the shopkeeper left. After a while, the waiter brought hot tea. He took a sip but didn’t swallow it. It tasted so bad that his tongue felt rough and bitter. He went to the window and looked down. Seeing a river nearby, he thought that it would be the prime spot to spit out the tea.

He was puffing up his cheeks when the window next door squeaked open. A cold face appeared three feet away.

“Pssh…”

The tea water was like a whale fountain. The water drops flew into Bai Shui’s face. She was stunned. By the time she turned her head, all she could see was a figure scrambling away, disappearing inside!

She was suddenly angry. Her constable temper rose up and she ran next door to knock furiously on the door. “Come out!”

The door suddenly opened a crack. Before she could see who it was, a slender white hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside. This caught her by surprise, so she was temporarily stunned as she was tugged inside. The door slammed shut.

Bai Shui stretched out her hand and pulled out her sword. The man who bowed his head in front of her raised his head slightly. A handsome face was reflected in the bottom of her eyes. Her sword paused halfway out of its sheath. 

This was the second time that they had been so close, but this was even more embarrassing than the first time. They looked away from each other. It was a while before Bai Shui remembered to push him away.

Qin Fang stumbled back a step. Seeing that she was about to leave, he reached out and grabbed her. “My brother-in-law asked me to come to you.”

Bai Shui paused. If there was a mission from the higher-ups, she should listen carefully, but because of what he said, her heart felt all messy again. He hadn’t come of his own accord; he had come because of Lord Su.  She quickly cleared her mind and asked, “What is it?”

“My brother-in-law said that the plan has changed, so you should keep watch of the escort cart. In particular, you should pay attention to anyone who attempts to take the escort cart secretly. You must catch them.”

“I see. You can go.”

“I can’t go. I guess it was inconvenient for brother-in-law and Ming Yue, so they let me come. If I go back, there will be no way to send messages. I have to stay here until everything is over.”

Bai Shui nodded before turning to leave. Qin Fang did not let go. “Why are you always leaving in such a hurry?”

Bai Shui turned to look at him. “You’ve been the one avoiding me. I’m doing this because I’m afraid that you’ll feel embarrassed.” She simply turned around, hugging the scabbard and pretending to be calm. “Okay. What else do you have to say? Go ahead.”

Qin Fang looked at Bai Shui. Her face was calm and indifferent. The unhappiness that had accumulated for such a long time was suddenly magnified. She was too calm, so calm that he almost thought she might have lied when she said she liked him.

But he knew her serenity was fake.

Still, Bai Shui pretending not to care was like a thorn in his heart. Thinking that she would always face him like this from now on, Qin Fang felt that he could not accept it.

There was no way he could go on like this, with her looking at him as if he were a stranger!

Bai Shui felt increasingly uneasy under his stare. She was determined to leave. Suddenly, he grabbed her tight. Surprisingly, she was rendered helpless in his hold. Temporarily stunned, she said with a straight face, “What are you doing?”

“I’ll go with you!”

Bai Shui paused. “What did you say?”

Qin Fang said loudly, “I’ll go with you! When you find your brother, I’ll go with you. I’ll take my brother-in-law and come with you.”

“……”

.

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