spoiled brat

Chapter 160, Section 159: Startling Frost (Nine)

It's this inn again.

The rain poured down, and Xie Xiaoqing closed his umbrella under the eaves, shaking off the water. The waiter at the door, who recognized him, approached with a smile: "Young Master Xie, why are you alone today? Where is Miss Yuan?"

"The princess has a class at the official academy today, and she has to accompany her. She'll be here shortly." Xie Xiaoqing took off his raincoat, which the waiter took and asked with a smile, "The usual, the side room facing the street?"

Xie Xiaoqing hesitated and shook his head, saying, "No, thank you." He pointed to the railing that had been washed by the rain and said, "Build a shed, light a small stove, and serve two pots of hot tea and a plate of fruit. The fruit should be sour, not sweet." With that, he stepped up the stairs.

Half an hour later, the rain subsided slightly, and Zhao Zhao rode up on horseback. After sitting down, she patted the water droplets off her clothes and asked, "Why don't you go inside and sit down?"

A breeze stirred the railing, carrying raindrops that brushed against Xie Xiaoqing's face, as if dampening his heart as well.
"It's not good for the two of us to stay in the side room."

"What's wrong?"

"...There's a bed in that room, but it's not appropriate for us, a man and a woman, to be alone together."

Zhao Zhao smiled: "Oh, so you're a man."

She didn't even consider the bookish nerd she had rescued multiple times.

Xie Xiaoqing blushed, and after a long while said, "Whether I am a man or not is not important. What is important is that your young master has misunderstood."

At this point, he took the opportunity to recount how he had been ambushed a few days earlier, miraculously survived, and was saved by Xiu Yi.

I thought Zhao Zhao would be somewhat moved after hearing this, but to my surprise, she only asked, "What did the person who harmed you look like? Did you see him clearly?"

The old man who was arrested yesterday is still being held at the yamen. His official crime is theft, and he should be flogged thirty times and then exiled.

Zhao Zhao used her connections to temporarily imprison him—even though Li Qingwen was very calm when he arrested him, as if he were a stranger, Zhao Zhao's intuition told her that there must be more to their relationship than met the eye.

"I was hit on the head three times, and I couldn't even open my eyes. It was nighttime, so how could I see anyone clearly?"

Xie Xiaoqing's bump on the back of his head hasn't gone down yet. "I only remember that the man's voice was hoarse and his tone was very flat, so he probably didn't talk to people often. He sounded to be around fifty years old... Oh right, he called that beast 'Erlang' in a very affectionate way, like an elder who had watched him grow up."

Zhao Zhao tapped the noodles with her fingers, recalling the old man's blank expression when he was arrested, and stared blankly at the little beggar eating a pancake by the roadside.

If she wasn't mistaken that day, the cake was left behind by Li Qingwen... An elder who had served his children so diligently ended up being rejected; no wonder he had such a sorrowful look in his eyes.

"That's it."

Zhao Zhao took a sip of tea and briefly explained the whole story, "Li Qingwen ordered him to kill you, so he must have done a lot of other things for him. He knows all the dirty tricks and filth that have happened over the years. If we can get him to talk, why worry about not being able to get leverage over Li Qingwen and ruin his reputation?"

"Excellent!" Xie Xiaoqing clapped his hands. "Double happiness today!"

"Double happiness?"

"Your earlier statement that Li Qingwen had dealings with eunuchs was a very accurate assessment of his character..."

Xie Xiaoqing recounted what he had seen and heard last night, his eyes gleaming: "If Minister Jiang finds out about this, and that old man turns against us, Li Qingwen's future will be completely ruined."

Despite the fierce wind and torrential rain, the two seemed oblivious, discussing and plotting their revenge as if it were just around the corner!

"Those eunuchs will most likely come to exchange grain again in the next few days," Xie Xiaoqing said excitedly. "Bring the soldiers from the Prince of Ning's mansion, catch them red-handed, and bring those eunuchs and Li Qingwen to Minister Jiang's presence so that he can see what kind of beast Li Qingwen is!"

Zhao Zhao pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "No. Although I am a servant of the princess, what right do I have to interfere outside the city? It would be too deliberate for me to show my face directly."

"We're missing a raft." "...Oh, right." Xie Xiaoqing remembered Xiu Yi, "The young master asked me earlier if you disliked Li Qingwen."

Zhao Zhao paused for a moment, then quickly regained her composure: "How did you answer?"

Xie Xiaoqing touched his nose and said awkwardly, "I didn't answer anything. How dare I speak between you two?"

"You're being a little too sensible," Zhao Zhao laughed, glancing at the sky. "I'm leaving now. See you in a few days."

She's probably going to find Xiu Yi. Xie Xiaoqing felt a little jealous: "It's not even dark yet, and you're already leaving?"

Zhao Zhao didn't bother to explain to him. She got up and left her seat, her sword and waist badge clanging together.

Turning around swiftly, thud—

Zhao Zhao stopped in her tracks outside the cell and said to the jailer accompanying her, "Open the door."

She was from the Prince Ning's residence, and the jailer obediently did as he was told, unlocking the door with a click.

The cell was dark and filthy. Zhao Zhao covered her nose with her finger. The jailer said obsequiously, "Miss, why do you have to come here in person for someone like this? It would be an insult for you to trespass on your lowly place."

"Although I'm not a member of the government, can't I even take a look at the thief I caught?" Zhao Zhao glanced sideways: "Did he confess?"

"He confessed, he confessed." The jailer chuckled, took out a sheet of hemp paper and handed it to Zhao Zhao. "This old man doesn't talk much, but he confessed readily."

Zhao Zhao glanced down at the confession. The content of the confession was not unusual; the family was poor and had no way to continue their livelihood. What was unusual was the handwriting. It was strong and vigorous like a pine tree, with the brushstrokes concealed and the white strokes applied perfectly. It should never have been written by a dirty old man.

She paused for a moment, took the lantern from the jailer's hand, and said calmly, "Go down."

The jailer bowed and withdrew.

Zhao Zhao stepped into the cell, inserting a lantern into a hole in the wall. The faint light made the space even darker. The person sitting silently in the corner raised his head, his expression obscure in the shadows.

“Uncle,” Zhao Zhao said, “if Lord Li doesn’t bail you out, you’ll be tortured and exiled.”

The old man didn't say anything, but a shadow twitched at the corner of his mouth—a smile, a disdainful smile.

Zhao Zhao was not annoyed. He took out the pipe from his waist, lit it in the lantern, and slowly exhaled smoke.

She remained calm and composed, gently unfolding the indictment and speaking in a casual tone, "You can even write incriminating statements with such eloquence; you are a learned person. But you ended up following that beast, doing things that are sure to be struck by lightning—what a waste of your beautiful handwriting."

This is not an exaggeration.

After entering the Prince's Palace, Zhao Zhao learned to read and write, recognizing that the ink on the paper and the choice of words were quite refined. In a world ravaged by war, literate people were few and far between, and those with such literary talent were one in a million.

"You don't understand anything," the old man scoffed.

“I truly don’t understand.” Zhao Zhao laughed. “I only know that this world is treacherous and people’s hearts are wicked, but I never expected that you could make even the darkest things seem plausible. Assassinating your former master is a crime you deserve, and repaying kindness with enmity is something you had no choice but to do… It’s really strange. What is there about a beast who has abandoned you like trash that you would be loyal to?”

The old man remained silent for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "There are some things that only he is willing to do, and only he is capable of doing."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

The old man closed his aged eyes, his memory returning to more than a decade ago, under the scorching sun, when the child's dark eyes blazed with a melancholy fire, and he spoke in a tone that seemed to want to set the entire world ablaze—

I want fairness in the world.