Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 5 Contempt
During the ten years that Qiu Heng stayed in Daxia thirty years later, he loved reading, including official history, unofficial history, and even folk stories.

She didn't like the real facts or stories that had happened, but in the countless days when she missed her parents, she tried to find Yunfeng Village among the piles of papers and find the couple who made a living by collecting and making incense.

It’s a pity that ordinary people like my parents would not be recorded. What she read was the decay under the flowers and brocade of the Great Summer, the paleness under the gorgeous clothes and robes, and the ugliness under the boundless elegance.

Among the royal relatives, civil officials and military generals, Earl Yongqing was originally inconspicuous, but he became famous by selling his granddaughter for fame.

In Daxia, some titles were not hereditary, but would be abolished when the last generation died. However, if the emperor showed favor, the title could be passed down to another generation. The Yongqing Marquis's mansion faced such a dilemma. In order to pass down the title, the Yongqing Marquis tried his best to please the powerful prime minister Fang Yuanzhi, and even gave his granddaughter to his grandson as a concubine.

When she found out from Mother Wang that the Qiu family was the same Qiu family recorded in the book, she knew that this was where she should come.

The master said that when a country is about to fall, there must be evildoers. The capital of Daxia fell, and the young emperor was forced to flee south. There were five people who committed unforgivable crimes. These five people were the evildoers that she needed to eliminate.

If she could do this in five years, Daxia might see a turnaround. If she couldn't, what she would experience, and what thousands of people in Daxia would experience, would be the bloody and chaotic world she later lived in.

Prime Minister Fang Yuanzhi was one of her targets.

"Is this Heng'er?" Uncle Yongqing looked at Qiuheng and smiled with satisfaction.

The younger generation of the Qiu family has few males but many females, and the beauty of the Qiu family girls is also somewhat famous in the capital.

"I met my grandfather."

After the Earl of Yongqing asked a few questions, the old lady ordered the maid to take Qiu Heng to settle down. The others also left, leaving only the steward Qiu.

"Aren't they just ordinary farmers? Why do they have maids?" The old lady asked Fangzhou while holding tea in one hand.

"Sixth Miss is mourning the passing of her adoptive parents, but I never had the courage to ask..." Manager Qiu told the story of Qiu Heng going up the mountain to guard the graves every day.

After Manager Qiu left, the old lady's face turned cold: "It's really unlucky."

Yongqing Bo smiled and said, "Now that everyone has been brought back, let's not talk about the past."

"If it weren't for the wife of Marquis Changchun..." The old lady swallowed her words halfway through.

She was not looking forward to her granddaughter's return.

Ten years ago, this girl went missing while visiting a lantern festival with her youngest son. The youngest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Du, was pregnant at the time and died soon after giving birth prematurely. Since then, she has a son who is drunk all day and a frail grandson.

The wife of Marquis of Changchun, who had returned to Beijing not long ago, invited her to have tea. She mentioned that she met a little girl when passing by Suiyun County who looked very similar to Du. She thought that this might be the sixth girl who had gone missing from the Yongqing Marquis' Mansion in the early years.

When the Sixth Girl went missing, it caused quite a bit of discussion in the capital. Now that the Marquis of Changchun's wife has kindly come to remind them, the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion will easily be criticized if they do nothing.

The old lady and Earl Yongqing were chatting about Qiu Heng, and the topic of conversation was also about Qiu Fu and her sisters who had left Qiansong Hall.

The garden was full of colorful flowers in March. The fifth girl Qiu Ying twisted the colorful string on the sachet with her fingers and smiled: "I didn't expect the sixth sister to be so beautiful."

The fourth girl Qiu Fu paused.

The third girl Qiu Yun curled her lips slightly: "Fifth sister is just looking for something new. Who is more outstanding than fourth sister in terms of appearance?"

"Alright, what's the point of comparing this?" Qiu Fu glanced at the sachet Qiu Ying was playing with, and threw the sachet Qiu Heng gave her into the flowers. "It's such a crude thing, it's a pity that Fifth Sister likes it so much."

Qiu Ying put away the sachet awkwardly: "Just for fun."

The second girl, Qiu Xuan, returned to her boudoir and took out the sachet and sniffed it.

"Miss, do you like the sachet given by Sixth Miss?" the maid asked with a smile.

Qiu Xuan lowered her eyes and looked at the ordinary sachet, thinking: "This fragrance is unique and pleasant."

Qiu Heng met Qiu Feng when he was putting the boxes and cages back into place.

Yongqing Bo has three grandchildren. The eldest grandson, Qiu Yang, is from the second house. He is sixteen years old this year and is studying at the Imperial College. The second grandson, Qiu Feng, is eleven years old and is her biological brother. Qiu Song just turned ten years old. Mother Wang specifically reminded her that the third son is the only boy in the first house and is very precious.

The first person Qiu Heng saw was Qiu Song.

The sturdy boy turned his head and pulled the person behind him: "What are you waiting for? Come and see what your sister looks like."

The thin boy staggered and was dragged to the front. He raised his eyes and met Qiu Heng's eyes.

Qiu Heng thought, this child is really thin.

"Are you the daughter that Uncle San lost?" Qiu Song asked in a curious tone. Qiu Heng raised her eyebrows: "You are——"

"My name is Qiu Song. How did you get lost?"

"Can not remember."

"You were five years old then, how come you don't remember anything?" The chubby boy came up to Qiu Heng and said in a bad tone, "Are you a fake?"

"Third brother, don't say that—"

"She didn't say anything, why is second brother so anxious? Oh, I get it, second brother envies me and eldest brother for having biological sisters, so he is eager to recognize a fake girl from the countryside as his sister!" Qiu Song clapped his hands and laughed.

Qiu Feng looked embarrassed and pursed his lips.

"The Third Young Master is so naughty, aren't you afraid that I will tell the old uncle and the old lady?"

"You still want to complain to your elders? Aren't you ashamed?"

Qiu Heng chuckled: "It seems that the Third Young Master never complains to his elders."

Qiu Song puffed out his chest and said, "Of course."

He has always been the one bullying others, why would he complain?

"Is that so?" Qiu Heng nodded, suddenly pulled Qiu Song over and pressed him on the table, then raised his hand and hit him hard on the buttocks.

"Oooooh--" Qiu Song screamed in pain, but his voice was blocked back in his throat by a hand.

What horrified him was that he was unable to break free and could only endure the beatings which became more painful with each successive blow.

Even more shocked than Qiu Song was Qiu Feng.

The already thin boy turned pale, his lips trembled and he couldn't speak.

Qiu Heng didn’t let go until he was satisfied with the beating.

"You dare to hit me!" Qiu Song jumped up, grimacing in pain.

"Then go and file a complaint, saying that you got spanked by a fake country boy like me."

"You, you wait!" Qiu Song turned and left.

The room fell silent for a moment.

After a long pause, Qiu Feng frowned and said, "You will be in trouble."

"Will he file a complaint?"

"Whether you go or not, it won't be easy if you offend your third brother." Qiu Feng looked at Qiu Heng deeply, then turned and left.

Fangzhou walked in, came close to Qiuheng and rubbed his eyes: "Girl, I seemed to have fallen asleep standing up just now. I dreamed of you beating up a little fat boy."

Qiu Heng patted Fang Zhou's arm and said, "Don't daydream. I really hit you."

Fangzhou held his forehead with his hand, unable to deceive himself any longer: "If the old lady and the others knew——"

"Such a shameful thing, such a bastard would never tell anyone."

"What if?"

"We'll talk about it if it happens, no need to worry in advance."

Dinner was served in Qiansong Hall, where Qiu Heng met the elder and second masters Qiu. As for her biological father, he was said to have been helped back from drunkenness and was still drunk.

Qiu Heng ignored the fierce look Qiu Song cast at her and quietly ate her first meal since arriving at the Qiu Mansion.

The next morning, Qiu Heng came to Qiansong Hall to pay her respects as reminded by Mother Wang, and Master Qiu San stumbled in.

(End of this chapter)