Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

After leaving Zhou Wenqing's bedchamber, Fusu and Li Yi returned to the courtyard.

With no one around and only the rustling of paulownia leaves in the wind, the two stopped under the tree, whispering to each other, piecing together the fragments of what they had heard and seen.

Fragmented pieces, layered and strung together, led the two to a terrifying conclusion—

It seems that the gentleman and Han Fei have truly broken ties!

Upon realizing this, both of them felt a pang of sadness and bitterness.

Fusu was filled with remorse, hating himself for being so foolish. He was right there, yet he failed to notice the undercurrents. He could only watch helplessly as the dramatic scene of their falling out unfolded hastily and ended sadly. Only after it was over did he realize what had happened, having done nothing to stop it or give it any buffer.

Li Yi was also filled with self-reproach. Although he vaguely felt that it was a bit unusual for his teacher to ask Han Zi to play chess, he never thought about it deeply and was so easily sent away, unable to stay by his teacher's side.

The two looked at each other, at a loss, not knowing where to go or what they could do for their husband who was grieving behind closed doors.

Just as he was lost in thought, a gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, and a scattered white jade cloud-shaped object rolled off the edge of the stone bench, spun around a few times, and finally came to rest at Fusu's feet.

Fusu suddenly snapped back to reality, his little face scrunched up, and he bent down to pick up the chess pieces. His gaze swept over the mess on the floor, his brow furrowed, and he said softly:

"Let's clean up this mess first, so that when the master comes out and sees the ruined chessboard, he won't be saddened even more."

"Okay," Li Yi replied, and squatted down with him.

The two moved quietly and made as little noise as possible so as not to disturb the people inside. One picked up the black pieces, and the other gathered the white pieces, and they began to clean up the mess scattered all over the floor.

Before long, the two chess boxes were filled to the brim, the black and white pieces clearly distinguished, neat and shiny as if they had never rolled into the mud or been stained with dust.

Only the shattered white chess piece in Fusu's palm remained lying there quietly, with nowhere to be placed.

He gently pressed the two fragments together with his fingertips, but the broken parts were uneven and the edges were damaged. Even with his best efforts, the cracks were still clearly visible.

Fusu sighed softly.

Li Yi also looked over, his gaze falling on the shattered chess piece. He paused for a moment before speaking:

"This chess piece is already damaged, so let's just throw it away. Otherwise, if you see it, you'll be saddened again."

Among the two full chess boxes, the missing piece is insignificant and has almost no impact on the game.

Fusu shook his head.

He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, put the two pieces together, carefully folded the edges, and tucked it into his sleeve.

"Let's keep it for now," Fusu said softly, with a hint of gentle stubbornness. "When I return to the palace, I'll ask the craftsmen there if they can find a way to repair it completely."

He looked at Li Yi, whose face was full of worry, paused, and gently pressed his palm against the crack through the fabric, adding, "Don't worry, I won't let you see it until it's repaired."

He just felt that if it were the gentleman, he might want to keep it.

Even if it's broken... I still hope to keep it.

Li nodded and said nothing more.

Once again, the two had nothing to do and were looking at each other in silence when they suddenly heard approaching footsteps coming from the courtyard gate, hurried and slightly rushed.

They all looked over.

Yao Jia appeared under the eaves, travel-worn and with ink stains on his sleeves, probably having just returned from official business at the prefect's residence without even having time to change his clothes.

Upon seeing Fusu, Yao Jia immediately stopped and calmly bowed, saying, "Young Master."

Fusu nodded slightly in return, and seeing his hurried steps, he asked softly:

"Your Excellency Yao, you seem to be in a hurry. Has something urgent happened?"

"Ah, it's nothing major, but it's a joyous occasion."

Yao Jia smiled upon hearing this, his tone light and cheerful, as if the fatigue from his busy official duties had been swept away, and asked with a smile:

"Does the eldest son still remember the first child we rescued—the youngest?"

Fusu nodded immediately.

Not only did they remember, but of all the children who were kidnapped, the youngest one left the deepest impression on them.

She was the starting point of the whole case, and the only child who risked her life to escape from the thieves' cage.

That small, frail body, with its stubborn tenacity, broke through its constraints and fled into the deep night, gradually uncovering the complete and shocking case behind it all.

Yao Jia's smile widened, his eyes and brows brimming with barely suppressed joy, as he continued:

"That resilient little girl, we couldn't find her family before, and we had to leave her in Yangdi. Zicheng was still regretting it for a long time, but now we've just received news that we've found her brother!"

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Fusu's eyes lit up, and he sincerely breathed a sigh of relief for the child. "This is indeed fantastic news."

After all, the further they went from Luoyang, the closer they got to Chen County, and the more difficult and longer it had been for them to find any children whose families were still alive. Therefore, the reunion was all the more precious.

Yao Jia nodded with a smile: "That's right, so as soon as I finished what I was doing, I rushed back to tell Zicheng so that he could feel a little more at ease."

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and lowered his voice.

"Oh, and Han Zi too, that stubborn guy!"

"When he led the team to suppress the bandits, he did not shy away from the task at all; when the pharmacy was besieged, he bravely went to the front lines, risking his life for the greater good. But now that the situation has been settled and the storm has passed, he insists that he is not a subject of Qin and refuses to interfere in the aftermath of the county's affairs. Among all the busy people in the county, he is the only one who is very free."

"Just now when I came back, I happened to see him galloping away on his horse. He was in a hurry and ignored me when I called out to him. He just rode off into the distance without even bothering to say hello."

He gave a light snort, seemingly dissatisfied, but a smile still lingered on his lips, clearly indicating that he hadn't really taken it to heart.

"I originally thought that since we'd stumbled upon such a joyous occasion, we should let him know. But now it seems there's no need to rush. We can tell him later, since he skipped it himself anyway."

As soon as he finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a frozen silence.

Yao Jia was oblivious to the subtle atmosphere. He was still immersed in the rare good news, and was so happy that he watched the leaves swaying in the wind, all of which were bright colors.

His gaze swept across the room and noticed the chess boxes in the two people's hands, so he couldn't help but make a joke:

"Was someone playing chess just now? Could it have been Zicheng and Han Zi? Did Zicheng's chess skills improve by leaps and bounds, and he beat Han Zi, making him lose face and causing him to storm off in anger?"

The more he thought about it, the more amusing it became, and his voice even rose in tone:

"If that's the case, then his magnanimity is truly petty, unbecoming of a gentleman. I wonder where he's gone. When he returns, I'll definitely give him a good thrashing!"

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Good luck on the college entrance exam! Wishing you all the best and hope you receive wonderful news!