Bai Shui returned to her senses and instantly covered his mouth. She glared at him and hissed in a low voice, “What are you being so loud for? The whole inn must’ve heard you.”
Qin Fang grabbed her hand. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t hear me clearly.”
“I heard you.” For a moment, that was all she said. His words had frightened her. At first, she thought that something was wrong with her ears. Then, she smiled gently with a hint of self-mockery. “You have to think it through clearly. If you really give up the title, all the glory and the wealth will be gone as well.”
“I know…that’s why I thought about it for so long.” Qin Fang kept his voice very low. “I couldn’t make up my mind at first. I thought I couldn’t change my lifestyle so easily, since I’ve been living like that since birth. What if I promise and then run away because I can’t bear the new lifestyle? In that case, wouldn’t it be better to just break everything off from the beginning? You’re right. It’s best to make it clear earlier.”
Bai Shui was silent. “Then why…have you changed your mind?”
“I originally thought that I di-didn’t like you that much, but I didn’t expect that being ignored by you would make me feel so awful. Afterwards, I realized that I’ve only lived twenty years of that luxurious life. If I can live until the age of seventy, I still have fifty years to adapt to our life together. Fifty years is such a long time. I don’t want to miss you and do nothing about it. That would be cowardly.”
As Qin Fang talked, he couldn’t help but feel that she had really been quite heartless before. Bai Shui had made her intentions clear early on. She could be so cold to him to the point of acting like they were strangers. If he hadn’t noticed that she was only pretending to maintain her calm, he would’ve thought that she actually never liked him that much.
Bai Shui felt wobbly on her feet. She had sometimes imagined that Qin Fang would choose her, but now that he had, she didn’t know how to face him. She leaned on the door and looked up at him. “I can ask Lord Su for help to find my brother. I believe in him. Before I go to the capital, I can enter as a woman. It would be easy to get into the capital, but it would be difficult to get close to your family. The Qin Family will certainly check my identity.”
Qin Fang nodded. “I understand. My father won’t allow me to marry a poor girl. If I insist, he will reveal the matter to the yamen immediately if he ever discovers your identity.”
Therefore, Qin Fang could only go with Bai Shui. Even if he left, he had to face the whole family’s pressing questions. They might even track him down.
He understood that it was painful for Bai Shui to have him make his choice early on as well. He didn’t want to be forced to get separated from her when they didn’t want to. The pain then versus now would be magnified by a hundred times.
The clamor of the street outside had not yet settled down, but the two hearts in the room unexpectedly found a place of peace amidst the noise. Since they were determined to face the future together, Qin Fang and Bai Shui both thought more resolutely and seamlessly than before.
Qin Fang thought that he was happier than Bai Shui, but when he looked at her secretly, he found that her eyes were slightly red. He then realized that she had been leaning on the door for a while, as if she had no strength to stand. He was slightly stunned. He pinched her cheeks, only to find that she was much thinner than before. These days, she had been all bravado. She clearly still cared very much. Still, she had been so cold. How misleading! “Now, we can talk properly, right?”
Bai Shui pursed her lips and said, “You have to change your habit of peeping at me first.”
“When did I peep at you?”
“Just now.” Bai Shui looked to the side, avoiding his gaze. “When I was eating.”
“…… So you knew.”
“I knew. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left before I was full.”
Qin Fang looked down at her. “Not full? I’ll go with you if you want to eat more.”
The original intention of Bai Shui was to scold him for being a scaredy-cat. He was quite daft, however, and her meaning didn’t seem to have penetrated his thick skull. He had turned his attention to her hunger rather than realizing she was criticizing him for being wimpy.
“Shui Shui?”
Bai Shui’s felt goosebumps all over. She glared. “You’re not allowed to call me that.”
Qin Fang was unhappy. “But Ming Yue calls you that.”
“I’m still not allowing you to.”
“Why?!”
“Because you’re a guy.”
Qin Fang was about to explode in anger. “In your eyes, I’m just like all other men.”
Bai Shui stopped, her lips slightly pursed. Qin Fang looked down at her and found that her eyes were big and bright. He had been blind for not recognizing her as a girl. As he stared, he felt the urge to lean forward and give her a peck on the face. “When things are settled and we leave the capital, you should take good care of me and give me some time to adapt. When I get used to it, I will take good care of you in the future.”
These words should have made Bai Shui feel that Qin Fang was worthless. But, after all, he was a little marquis who had grown up in luxury. It must have taken a lot for him to say this, so he must’ve been completely earnest. There were no honeyed words and no deception. She nodded gently. He was overjoyed, taking her head and giving her a heavy kiss on her forehead. Before she reacted, Qin Fang, who was afraid of being beaten, jumped aside.
“I’ll buy you wonton. Wait for me.”
Bai Shui stayed in place for a long time before touching her forehead. She found that her face was so hot that it could sear her hands.
When she looked through the opened door, she saw Qin Fang’s footsteps creating a ruckus on the floorboards. He was such a noisy person.
Bai Shui hoped that she would be able to find her brother as soon as possible. Afterwards, the three of them could leave safely and live in peace, just as Qin Fang had said.
Without realizing, she released a sigh at the thought.
*
The drum in front of the Yuzhou yamen was old, but it was still clean and tidy. It looked like it had been in use for a long time, but the yamen was not willing to change it. The plaque on the main entrance was also spotless, as if it was cleaned every day. Perhaps because Su Yunkai and Ming Yue had gone early, the stone guardian lions on both sides of the yamen still had wet stains.
The two walked leisurely past the yamen, but they didn’t go inside. When they passed by, Su Yunkai said, “I can now be sure that the scholar is from the yamen and mistakenly thought I was coming over for inspection.”
“How do you know?” asked Ming Yue, who had developed the habit of asking questions.
“The yamen is very clean. It was especially cleaned today.” This time, without waiting for her to ask again, Su Yunkai explained, “If it was wiped down like this every day, there would be no trace of moss left on the side of the stone lion and the drum. The governor of Yuzhou has not been dispatched just this year, so the current one has been in office for two years. If he cleans up like this every day, the yamen would look entirely different.”
Ming Yue suddenly said, “So we can be at ease now, knowing that they think we only came for county inspection.”
“Yes, but we can’t delay for too long. After all, I only let Lord Xu block the road for another four days. I’m afraid the messenger will come within the next two days.”
Ming Yue was confused. “But why didn’t you let Lord Xu block it up for a few more days?”
Su Yunkai said with a smile, “That road has been blocked for such a long time that both businessmen and people are worried and anxious. Blocking it for these four days was already a bad strategy.”
So this was the reason. Ming Yue knew that Su Yunkai was a good official who constantly thought of the people. “It’s just that time is tight.”
“Fortunately, no harm has been done. Although it is a bad strategy, it is one that I have thought through.”
Ming Yue trusted him. “What should we be doing now?”
“Wait.”
“What are we waiting for?”
“We’ll wait for Constable Bai to catch the people. Then, we’ll reappear.”
*
Although Qin Fang and Bai Shui had reconciled, they could not stay together because of her mission. Qin Fang would wait for her to return to her room. Then, he would lean outside the window to talk to her. As there was a river below them, people wouldn’t be able to see them conversing.
Noticing that his body was leaning further and further outside, Bai Shui couldn’t help but say, “Don’t fall.”
Qin Fang was all smiles. “Are you caring for me?”
Bai Shui glanced at him. “I am afraid that if you hurt yourself, I will not be able to carry you to the doctor.” He suddenly pitched forward, appearing as if he were about to topple from the window. Bai Shui was so scared that she turned pale. “Qin Fang!”
But Qin Fang didn’t fall. Instead, he laughed. Bai Shui knew that she had been teased and poked him with her scabbard. However, Qin Fang was too far away for her to hit him and he was good at dodging. Qin Fang grabbed the tip of the scabbard and begged for mercy. “I apologize, but your care for me is clear. Why won’t you admit it?”
Bai Shui suddenly snatched back her sword. How could he have the mind of a playful teenager, always teasing her?
Bam. Bam.
Suddenly, there was a knock outside the door, which didn’t sound like the usual knock of the innkeeper.
Bai Shui immediately shushed Qin Fang. Her face was solemn. Qin Fang knew to behave and immediately went silent. Because he couldn’t see her anymore, he pressed his ears to the wall to listen to the movements next door.
Bai Shui straightened her clothes, picked up her sword, went to the door, and opened it.
In front of the door stood a white-faced scholar with a shabby, long shirt, hair-bundled in a jade-embellished hat, and simplistic clothing. He looked up and down at Bai Shui, peered into the room, and saw the big chest behind her. It was then that something in his eyes changed. Without much emotion, he said, “The Bafang Escort Agency goes in all eight directions.”
Bai Shui paused. The escorts had told her that these seemingly ordinary words were the secret code for this mission.
The man who Lord Su was looking for had finally appeared.
“Please come inside.”
Mo Geng stepped into the room. The door behind him was closed. He was just praising the Bafang Escort Agency for being careful when he felt a large sword placed against his neck. The voice of the short man behind him was piercing and cold.
“What is your name?”
.
A Hint of Spring 