spoiled brat

Chapter 130, Section 129: The Sharp Arrow (Part 9)

"Yeah."

Li Qingwen lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Zhao Zhao's hand holding the knife.

The trembling of bones and muscles always reveals a person's emotions.

"Have you ever seen me before, young lady?"

“Last Mid-Autumn Festival, Your Excellency rushed to the Prince’s Mansion to deliver a message, but as soon as he reached the front gate, his horse died of exhaustion.” The bandage on her hand came undone, and Zhao Zhao wrapped it again: “I led the men to bury that horse.”

"What a coincidence." Li Qingwen spoke in a casual tone, without a trace of hostility, "What position does the young lady hold in the household?"

“I haven’t taken on any official duties,” Zhao Zhao said. “I’m just coasting along in the manor because my sister is the second steward.”

Second steward?
Li Qingwen had an excellent memory and was also very clever. After getting in touch with Minister Jiang, he quickly figured out the intricacies of human relationships. He would not forget even the most trivial details, including those of everyone in the Prince Ning's mansion.

I vaguely remember that the second steward's surname was Yuan and his given name was Zhen. His father and brother had made great military achievements and followed Prince Ning in battle until their deaths.

"My apologies, I didn't know you were a descendant of a loyal and valiant man. No wonder you have such an air about you," Li Qingwen said. "May I ask how many children you live in your family?"

"Three in a row."

“In that case,” Li Qingwen smiled, his deep eyes fixed on Zhao Zhao, “this humble official knows who you are.”

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the inn where we would be staying. It was a small shop with a few red lanterns illuminating the half-rotten signboard.

At midnight, all the customers had left. The waiter was packing up to close when a large group of people surged towards the door, including officials and soldiers. He immediately turned pale with fright and stammered, "Sir, we run a legitimate business here..."

They're being treated like cheapskates.

Zhao Zhao took out a silver pouch and placed it on the counter. Pointing to the students behind her, she said, "Please clean up some rooms and prepare some hot meals so they can have a comfortable stay." She then slid a domino from her sleeve and said, "Write down the bill. I'll settle it in half a month."

The waiter, upon seeing the sign, felt a deep sense of respect and hurriedly arranged for the students to stay, also informing the innkeeper that a distinguished guest had arrived.

Upon hearing that they were from the Prince Ning's residence, the shopkeeper hurriedly ran to the front hall, bowed to Zhao Zhao, and insisted on returning the bag of silver.

"No need for your esteemed family to spend so much! The Prince is fighting valiantly on the front lines, and these students are coming to the capital to serve the country. Although our shop is simple, it can provide these young people with food and lodging for half a month..."

Zhao Zhao tried to persuade him gently, but the shopkeeper still refused to accept it.

After some back and forth, Li Qingwen sneered, walked out the door, randomly found a young-looking guard, and stuffed a few pieces of silver into his hand: "Young man, who is the one in charge inside?"

The young guard, clutching the money, didn't dare put it in his pocket and asked rather curiously, "Why does the lord ask about this?"

Li Qingwen replied flawlessly, "You need to go back and report to the young master, but don't I also need to report to Minister Jiang?"

The young guard then accepted the money: "It's for our Miss Yuan the Third."

"Young man, are you joking?"

Li Qingwen smiled: "The Yuan family is full of loyal martyrs, and I have heard some of the inside story. In this generation, only two daughters have survived, one named Yuan Zhen and the other named Yuan Yue. There was a daughter of the third generation, but she drowned more than ten years ago..."

Through the crack in the window, he glanced at Zhao Zhao's back and wondered, "Is this Miss Yuan San in front of me a ghost that crawled out of the underworld?"

"Lord Li only knows one side of the story, not the other."

The young guard rolled his eyes: "It's true that the Third Miss fell into the water, but she was pulled out by the people downstream and didn't die. When she grew up, her adoptive parents discovered that she had a token on her, and they followed the clues to return her to the Prince's mansion to claim their reward."

Li Qingwen raised an eyebrow: "Then why have I never heard of it?"

"It's not something to be proud of for a young woman to be stranded outside; how would outsiders know?"

The young guard sighed: "Furthermore, although she has returned, she has endured too much hardship during her seven or eight years away, which has fostered a withdrawn and eccentric personality. She doesn't talk much and only stays by the princess's side... You know the princess's health; she rarely goes out, and so does she. Where did you hear about this?"

The young guard spoke fluently and reasonably, not because he had foreseen Li Qingwen's question, but because he had arranged Zhaozhao's identity long before Xiu Ning decided to bring her to the capital.

Li Qingwen carefully examined the matter and found no errors from beginning to end. The only strange thing was that this Miss Yuan and his locked-up maid had extremely similar faces.

He remembered that Yao Niang had a daughter, but he had never seen her. He only knew that she was a girl who was almost a teenager, and Yao Niang praised her to the skies, saying that she was the most well-behaved and sensible child in the world, and that whoever became her stepfather would be lucky to have found a treasure.

When the hired assassins reported back, they mentioned that everything had been taken care of and there would be no future troubles.

Is it true? Li Qingwen's eyes turned sinister.

When Zhao Zhao stepped out of the inn, Li Qingwen had only been gone a short while.

She watched the figure disappear around the street corner, and the head guard reminded her, "Lord Li just inquired about your identity."

The young guard stepped forward, handed over several coins as a bribe, and recounted the entire conversation.

Zhao Zhao tossed the silver back into his arms: "Take it." Then she turned and left.

Seeing that she wasn't heading in the direction of the princess's residence, nor the path Li Qingwen had taken, the head guard asked blankly, "Miss..."

"You all go and report back first." Zhao Zhao didn't turn around, her voice as indifferent as the wind. "I'll find a clinic to treat my injuries."

She hadn't taken two steps when she heard someone following her. Zhao Zhao stopped and turned around, only to see that the person standing behind her was not the head guard, but Xie Xiaoqing, who had just run out of the inn.

Seeing her cold and stern expression, Xie Xiaoqing was stunned for a moment. He raised his hand and handed her a bottle of ointment for treating injuries, not knowing where he had gotten it from: "...Thank you for saving me earlier."

He meant well, but Zhao Zhao cursed him inwardly for being nosy: "Go back, don't follow me." It was late at night, and Xie Xiaoqing, though clearly a bookworm, was more protective than a guard, saying憨憨地, "If you don't want to use this medicine, I'll go with you to the clinic..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Zhao beckoned to him, her expression unfriendly, but her gesture indicated agreement.

Xie Xiaoqing approached, but before he could get a few steps away, his leg was suddenly hooked, and he spun around and fell flat on his back with a thud.

The medicine bottle in her hand rolled a few steps away and stopped next to Zhao Zhao's boots. She picked it up and threw it into Xie Xiaoqing's arms, sneering, "Do you think you're worthy to walk with me?" After saying that, she stepped over Xie Xiaoqing, turned around, and left quickly.

After rounding the street corner and confirming that no one was following, Zhao Zhao slipped into the dark alley.

After arriving in the capital, she inquired about Li Qingwen's residence, Yanghua Lane in the east of the city. If the map she remembered was correct, as long as she chased him fast enough, she could kill that beast before he got home.

Zhao Zhao moved swiftly through the boundless night, her hand gripping the cold hilt of the knife tightly, her steps light and silent.

After walking around three streets and through four alleys, she could vaguely hear footsteps on the road.

Zhao Zhao hid in the shadows and glanced to the side. Who else could that person in the road be but Li Qingwen?
The moonlight was dim, and the streets were deserted except for a few shopkeepers who hadn't yet closed, who lit lanterns to bid farewell.

This was a rule in the capital: when officials returned home at night, merchants along the roadside had to light lamps to illuminate the way.

Amidst the passing of lights, Li Qingwen strolled leisurely, even having the time to chat with the shopkeepers who came to deliver his order.

It was a great honor to speak with the second-place scholar. The shopkeeper saw him off for a long distance and was reluctant to leave. He kept talking to him until he got home.

After saying goodbye to the shopkeeper, Li Qingwen's expression suddenly turned sinister. He stared at the dark street for a moment before slipping inside.

Because he had only recently risen to prominence and held a low official position, he was too embarrassed to buy a luxurious mansion. He only bought a small two-courtyard house and hired a personal attendant who would come and go day and night.

It was late at night, and the courtyard, damp from the rain, was shrouded in mist. He was too lazy to light a lamp, and after taking only a few steps, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear: "Lord Li."

Li Qingwen calmly glanced to the side and saw a solitary figure in the four-cornered pavilion, like a ghost or a phantom, gazing at him eerily.

Why are you only coming back now?

The voice belonged to Miss Jiang's personal maid. Li Qingwen replied, "The road is slippery on a rainy night, so we walk slowly—"

Before he could finish speaking, the man in the pavilion questioned, "You should have been home half an hour ago, why have you been delayed for so long?"

After Li Qingwen explained in detail, he sneered, "My young lady meant well by personally cooking porridge and having it delivered. If you had come back earlier, you could have had a hot bowl of it. Now, the porridge is cold, a complete waste of her good intentions!" With that, he got up to leave.

Li Qingwen went up to them, pulled them back to the pavilion and sat them down. He lit a candle on the stone table and smiled, "How could I bear to waste Aying's kindness? Even if it gets cold or spoiled, I'll drink it all."

The maid didn't believe it and scooped up a bowl and handed it over.

This was fish porridge, cold and greasy, with a strong fishy smell. Li Qingwen suppressed his nausea and swallowed it spoonful by spoonful.

Setting down her bowl, she said casually, "I heard that in a few days, A-Ying will be setting up a screen at Yangliu Slope outside the city, inviting friends for a spring outing and elegant conversation—"

Whenever he opened his mouth, the maids would interrupt him, saying sarcastically, "Those going will all be from high-ranking families. Even if Lord Li goes with the title of my young lady's husband, what can he possibly say to everyone?"

Li Qingwen said no more. After the maid put away the food box and left, and her footsteps were too far away to be heard, he found a corner to dry heave.

After vomiting, he went to the pool to wash his face, smiled at his reflection, and thought to himself that he had suffered countless humiliations over the past twenty years, so what was this little bit of bad luck?
Li Qingwen walked slowly inside and pushed open the door to enter the West Corner Tea Room.

The tea room was cramped and narrow, and he never allowed his servants to come in to clean it. The honest servants weren't particularly curious either. So, after working there for half a year, they didn't even know that there was a section of wooden floorboard that could be opened.

Squeak.

Moonlight filtered through the shadows of the trees, scattering into the window and illuminating a quiet spot beneath the floor.

Several crisscrossing lines form a magic array, with a small box placed at the center.

This is a curse to prevent life.

The one-eyed Taoist priest performing the ritual confidently declared that even the most resentful ghosts could not escape the array he had set up and would never be reincarnated.

Li Qingwen scoffed. If it really worked, what was that girl he met tonight? A ghost crawling out of the ground, or someone who hadn't been completely wiped out?

He was not afraid of anything, no matter what it was.

"My beautiful maiden, my beautiful maiden."

Li Qingwen picked up the box of ashes, walked to the window, and casually scattered them.

A few pale streaks disappeared into the mud after the rain.

He whispered, as tenderly as the best lover in the world: "Come on then. I will kill you, again and again."

The only response he received was the sound of the wind, a mournful, plaintive murmur, like weeping and lamenting.

Li Qingwen slammed the window shut, causing the tree trunks outside the wall to tremble and startling a flock of birds into flight.

Zhao Zhao leaned against the tree, her face hidden in the shadows, her lips tightly pressed together, a streak of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth and dripping down her chin.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

(End of this chapter)