Shocking Mountain Moon

Chapter 6 Meeting the Enemy

Qiu Heng was very sensitive to smells, and she could smell the alcohol before she could see the person clearly.

The old lady's face darkened slightly: "Old Third, why are you so drunk so early in the morning?"

Master Qiu San turned a deaf ear to the old lady's words and stared at Qiu Heng, tears streaming down his face: "Heng'er——"

Qiu Heng glanced at the old lady.

The old lady said sternly, "I haven't met your father yet."

Qiu Heng bowed her head and saluted: "Father."

Master Qiu San came over, grabbed Qiu Heng's arm with trembling hands, and burst into tears: "Heng'er, Daddy is sorry for you——"

Qiu Heng tensed up, not knowing what expression to make for a moment.

There are three male elders who have the greatest influence on her. Her adoptive father is simple and taciturn, and is her real father in her heart; her husband has a broad mind and she respects him; Uncle Fu teaches her martial arts, and is strict but kind.

This is the first time I have seen a father crying like this in front of a younger generation.

The calm girl, the unkempt and crying middle-aged man, and the old lady who had always looked down on her granddaughter felt inexplicably ashamed and shouted, "That's enough. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by your daughter?"

The crying stopped abruptly. Master Qiu San took back his hand and stared at Qiu Heng without blinking: "Heng'er, are you eating and sleeping well? Daddy had something to do yesterday and didn't go to see you..."

The old lady twitched her lips and said, "Now that we've met, go get busy. We'll have plenty of time to talk later. I'm going to take Heng'er out for a while."

"Where is mother going to take Heng'er?"

The old lady glanced at Qiu Heng and said, "Heng'er was found thanks to Madam Changchun Hou. I have to go and express my gratitude."

"I should thank you, I should thank you." Mr. Qiu San nodded repeatedly, his eyes still on Qiu Heng, "Heng'er, wait until you come back from going out with grandma, and daddy will come to see you again."

"Thank you for your concern, father."

On the way to the Changchun Marquis's residence, the old lady reminded him: "When you meet the Changchun Marquis's wife, answer whatever she asks you. Don't say too much, and don't be silent either."

Qiu Heng agreed, wondering if the wife of Marquis Changchun was the woman she met when she went to see Brother Bai.

When we met, my guess was confirmed.

The wife of the Marquis of Changchun looked at Qiu Heng and smiled gently: "It's good that you can go home. It's just a small favor. You don't have to take it to heart, old lady."

"Madam, your little help is like a rebirth for this girl."

Until they left Changchun Marquis's Mansion, the Marquis's wife never mentioned the nephew, and Qiu Heng didn't ask either.

Inside the carriage, the old lady asked tentatively, "Mrs. Changchun said she met you when she went to see her nephew. Do you know her nephew?"

"Who is the nephew of the Marquis of Changchun's wife?"

"The nephew of the wife of Marquis Changchun..." The old lady paused, "is the son of Prince Kang, Lingyun."

The Prince of Kang County - Qiu Heng thought about the books she had read, and there was only one sentence about the Prince of Kang County: he was weak.

Could Ling Yun, the prince of Kang County, be the Big Brother Bai she knew?

The image of the young man appeared in Qiu Heng's mind.

Four years ago, she and Yunxiang met two lost teenagers, a master and a servant, in the mountains. The master was Brother Bai. They sent the two back to the Taoist temple and have been in contact since then.

Not long ago, Brother Bai said goodbye to her and Yunxiang, saying that he would go home after he had recovered. His home is in the capital.

Qiu Heng thought about this and said, "My granddaughter has always lived in a mountain village and doesn't know any princes or heirs."

The old lady was not surprised by this answer and thought to herself that she was overthinking it.

How could a country girl possibly know the prince of a county? It was a great fortune for her to be met by the wife of the Marquis of Changchun.

But it was a headache for the Yongqing Marquis's Mansion. Such a big living person couldn't be hidden, and he wouldn't be able to show up in front of people in the future, which would be a disgrace to the Qiu family.

"Wait until we get back--" The carriage shook violently and the old lady was thrown to one side.

The carriage overturned on the side of the road. When the old lady was helped out by Qiu Heng, she was still dazed.

The maids and servants who had accompanied the old lady out hurriedly gathered around her, and more followers stopped people passing by on horseback.

"How can anyone ride a horse like you? My carriage flipped over trying to avoid you!"

The young man in brocade clothes who was leading the group sat steadily on his horse and raised his eyebrows nonchalantly when he heard the words.

The servant following behind him said arrogantly, "You guys wanted to hide, it's not like our Master ran into your carriage. Are you trying to blackmail us by stopping us from leaving? Do you know who our Master is?"

Hearing that the young man riding the horse was of unusual status, the attendants of the Yongqing Marquis' Mansion looked at the old lady.

The old lady recovered from her dizziness and looked at the young man in brocade clothes with a sullen face: "I wonder which family you are from, young master?"

The servant raised his chin: "Our young master is the son of Commander Han!" Although there are many powerful people in the capital, only those who are the most eye-catching are the old lady. The old lady immediately reacted: "It turns out that it is the son of Commander Han——"

Her arm suddenly felt painful, and the hand that had been supporting her arm tightened its grip.

The old lady glanced at Qiu Heng, only to see that she was staring at the young man in brocade clothes, tears welling up in her eyes.

The old lady was speechless: Are you crying out of fear? You really are not presentable!
At this moment, Qiu Heng had only one thought in his mind: it was him, the person who hit his father to death.

The murderous intent surged out, but was suppressed in the blink of an eye, leaving only tears.

In the past ten years when she was used to seeing Xia people treated like grass, she had already learned to control her emotions in order to survive and to go home.

During this time since she came back, she often fell into nightmares after falling asleep, dreaming of corpses everywhere and people being worse than dogs. When she woke up, she could still do what she had to do calmly.

What is more terrifying than a nightmare is that it is not a dream, but the reality that will happen after Daxia falls to foreigners.

Han Wu, the commander of the palace, was one of the five thieves she was entrusted to kill. Allowing her to have some selfish thoughts, she started with this thief.

The young man in brocade clothes looked at the tearful girl and suddenly became interested in the old lady's background: "You are——"

The young servant was secretly surprised: in the past, after the young master revealed his identity, those people did not dare to stop him, and he would just ride away on his horse, but today was unusual.

By this time, the old lady regretted stopping him, but she had to introduce herself: "I am the wife of the Earl of Yongqing. Mr. Han seems to have something to do, so I won't waste your time."

"It's Madam Bo." The young man in brocade clothes lost interest and bowed perfunctorily, "Goodbye."

Although the young lady is beautiful, she comes from a noble family, so it is not worth the effort to get her into the family.

The old lady got on the carriage under the gazes of many people watching, and scolded: "It was fine when you were in the countryside before, but now that you have entered the Earl's Mansion, you have to act like a lady. Staring at strange men, and crying at the slightest thing, you are making a fool of yourself."

Qiu Heng changed the subject lightly: "My granddaughter is just curious about why Mr. Han is so arrogant."

The old lady was so naive that she laughed: "You know his father has been in charge of the imperial guards for twenty years and is highly valued by the emperor. If such a close minister says something in front of the emperor, it would be like a mountain falling down on others."

Qiu Heng looked as if she was being taught a lesson: "No wonder."

He was in charge of the imperial guards for twenty years, but he relied on his favor for personal gain and neglected training. Facing the siege of the Qi army, he was unable to withstand a single blow, which led to the fall of Kyoto and the suffering of countless Xia people.

In front of the hanging flower gate, Master Qiu San was waiting eagerly. When he saw the carriage coming, he hurried to greet it: "Mother is back."

The old lady raised her eyebrows in surprise.

The third brother didn’t drink today.

Accompanying the old lady back to Qiansong Hall, when Qiu Heng said goodbye, Master Qiu San stood up and said, "I'll take Heng'er back to her room."

"Go." The old lady suppressed all the words that she wanted to criticize Qiu Heng for the time being.

When the father and daughter were alone together, Master Qiu San became embarrassed and put the bag he was carrying on the table: "Buy whatever Heng'er likes. Tell Daddy when you run out of money."

After Master Qiu San left, Qiu Heng opened the bag, which was full of silver coins.

Fangzhou picked it up with one hand and blurted out, "Seven pounds and four ounces."

Seven pounds and four ounces of change, has this emptied the money for buying wine?

As Qiu Heng thought about this, she finally felt more real about her new identity which seemed like a dream.

In Qiansong Hall, the old lady complained to the returning Earl of Yongqing: "I knew that the sixth girl had a tough life. Today, on the way back from the Marquis of Changchun's mansion, the carriage overturned..."

"That Han Yanei is famous for his love of riding fast horses. I don't know how many people have been harmed by him. It's not surprising to encounter him."

"My uncle is very generous to the sixth girl."

Yongqing Bo smiled and took a sip of tea.

Now that I have a beautiful and young granddaughter, why shouldn't I be tolerant?

As the couple was talking, a servant came to report, "Old uncle, Master Xue from the Imperial City Department is here to visit."

Earl Yongqing's expression suddenly changed and he hurried to the front hall.

The man in the hall was drinking tea, no, it should be said that he was a young man.

The young man in scarlet clothes was in a casual posture, as if he was at home. His expression was also casual. When he heard the footsteps, he glanced at Yongqing Bo who was walking in quickly, without showing any sharpness.

However, Earl Yongqing was nervous and asked in a tactful way about the purpose of the visit.

The young man smiled and said, "I heard that the uncle found his granddaughter who had been lost for many years. I want to meet her."

　I would like to bow to thank old and new friends who have collected, voted and rewarded me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)