Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 123

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun immediately stood up from his chair, but then quickly sat back down.

Even so, Tie Zi could see Qi Yun's momentary shock.

But Qi Yun didn't tell anyone the reason, not even Tie Zi knew that what Qi Ming had lost this time wasn't simply an ink stone and calligraphy samples, but imperial gifts...

Even though Emperor Chu Chengyun had given them as presents, as long as they had passed through his hands, they were imperial bestowals from the royal family, naturally not to be lost or discarded.

Qi Ming had Liu Si come find him, probably because he treasured the brotherhood between himself and Emperor Chu Chengyun, carefully preserving the items his sworn brother had given him. Naturally he didn't want to lose them, so he came to Qi Yun for help.

But for Qi Yun, this wasn't simply a matter of sentiment. If handled poorly, it could mean prison.

When ordinary families received imperial gifts, they would set up incense altars, place them in ancestral halls, carefully preserve them, and pass them down to descendants for generations.

The Qi family seemed somewhat different, perhaps because Emperor Chu Chengyun hadn't been so ceremonious when giving them.

Though to Qi Yun, this new Emperor wasn't so mysterious, and the Imperial Longevity Lock he'd given was still together with the silver lock, that didn't mean it could be casually stolen by others.

But Qi Yun quickly thought it through. Lost was lost. If they didn't speak of it, who would know who had given it?

However, whether Qi Ming had simply had bad luck encountering bandits, or if someone was targeting him specifically, that was hard to say.

Qi Yun sat in his chair, closing his eyes slightly to compose himself.

Tie Zi knew his Young Master hadn't had breakfast yet after getting up early. Though Qi Yun's health wasn't as fragile as paper like before, he was still weaker than ordinary people. So Tie Zi went to ladle a bowl of astragalus and sea bass soup that had originally been prepared for Ye Jiao, and handed it to Qi Yun to drink.

After drinking the bowl, Qi Yun's spirits improved somewhat, and only then did he look toward Liu Si: "What exactly happened to Third Brother? You must tell me clearly, leaving nothing out."

Liu Si was young, and his speech wasn't fluent. Relying solely on his mouth to explain would probably not make things clear.

Fortunately, Qi Ming had anticipated this and had written a letter for Liu Si to bring.

Qi Yun took the letter, unfolded it, and read through it quickly with practiced ease, soon understanding the whole situation.

The letter said that Qi Ming had been studying hard at the academy, and when he finally had some free time to go out, he had intended to carry his trunk to the book stalls in town to buy some books to bring back. Who knew he would encounter a singing girl on the road, crying and making a fuss about being pursued and killed, appearing very pitiful.

However, though Qi Ming was young, he wasn't stupid. In broad daylight, he didn't believe anyone would dare to pursue and kill a respectable woman in the street, so he tried to leave her behind.

Who knew this singing girl seemed to faint from fright, collapsing against Qi Ming, with both hands clutching him and Liu Si tightly, refusing to let go.

Just at that moment, a group of men in short brown jackets rushed out and forcibly snatched away Qi Ming's trunk. But Qi Ming and Liu Si were entangled by the singing girl and couldn't break free. By the time they finally struggled free, those men had disappeared without a trace.

If it had been ordinary gold and silver, losing it would just be losing it. After all, he was someone who would take the Imperial Examinations, and studying was most important. He really didn't have time to report to officials or deal with lawsuits. But since the trunk contained things his sworn brother had given him, Qi Ming came to find Qi Yun.

After reading, Qi Yun knew his brother had been the victim of a scam.

The scheme wasn't particularly clever, but the fact that they were specifically targeting his trunk seemed very strange.

But since it was Qi Ming who had lost things and been deceived, Qi Yun worried that his brother might not explain things clearly due to embarrassment, so he set the letter aside and looked at Liu Si: "I'll ask you questions, and you just need to answer yes or no. If you want me to help Third Brother, tell the truth."

Liu Si stood there obediently and nodded upon hearing this.

Qi Yun drank another bowl of fish soup, then said in a deep voice: "The singing girl he mentioned, was she truly a stranger, or had he gotten into some romantic debt that made the woman come find him?"

Liu Si first looked stunned, then his face reddened, and he shook his head repeatedly, stammering: "No no no no no no..."

"Good, then tell me, has Third Brother made enemies with anyone recently?"

Liu Si thought carefully, then shook his head again: "No."

Third Young Master stayed at the academy every day, he wouldn't have had opportunities to make enemies even if he wanted to.

Qi Yun continued: "Think again, when those men rushed out to snatch the trunk, were they only targeting Third Brother, or were they targeting others too?"

Liu Si immediately said: "Only, only Third Young Master." His voice paused, "Actually, those people wanted to hurt Third, Third Young Master, but... I pulled away that woman, and when we ran away in panic, we dropped, dropped the trunk."

Liu Si wasn't in the thick of it after all, so he could see clearly. In the confusion, Qi Ming was actually dazed and couldn't remember many details clearly. Many specifics came from questioning Liu Si.

And Liu Si had hidden this from Qi Ming, only telling him that those people were just trying to steal things.

Liu Si was afraid that telling the truth would frighten Third Young Master. With the provincial examinations approaching, if his mind became unsettled and it affected the Imperial Examinations, that would be real trouble.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun understood Liu Si's concerns and was pleased that his foolish brother had such a reliable study companion. He had Tie Zi bring a seat for Liu Si and also ladle him a bowl of fish soup.

After Qi Yun thought carefully, his expression showed no worry, and he said softly: "As expected, they were specifically targeting Third Brother."

What singing girl, what street robbery, it was all part of their scheme, ultimately aimed only at Third Young Master Qi.

As for whether they were also targeting the Qi family, Qi Yun couldn't be certain, but there was probably a connection.

If the last time Qi Ming was pushed off the cliff by the Cai family was to steal his county examination spot, today's incident seemed to have no clear purpose.

And those who dared to do such things were probably not ordinary families. There were many government offices in the city, the prefect's office was right there. For these people to dare cause trouble in the city in broad daylight, unless they were completely mad, there must be someone backing them.

If it was the latter, then it couldn't be let go lightly. They needed to know who was behind it to guard against them, otherwise once they gave in this time, there would always be a second and third time.

Third Brother was young and about to take the provincial examinations. He couldn't afford to have even a finger injured.

So Qi Yun immediately said to Tie Zi: "Take Liu Si down the mountain now, go to the county office to find County Magistrate Shi, tell him about this matter, and ask him to help investigate who's behind it."

Tie Zi hesitated: "Second Young Master, will County Magistrate be willing to get involved?"

Even though Qi Yun hadn't explained clearly, Tie Zi could tell this wasn't an ordinary matter.

Though Shi Tianrui was county magistrate, he was only a seventh-rank minor official after all. He probably wouldn't dare take it on.

Qi Yun said: "Don't worry, he'll definitely help."

Just for that Imperial Plaque alone, Qi Yun didn't believe Shi Tianrui would ignore it.

But what would really make Shi Tianrui take on this case wasn't the Imperial Plaque, but because Ye Jiao had saved his daughter's life.

Madam Zheng had told Shi Tianrui about the Buddha Orchid incident in complete detail, specifically mentioning the connection to some important person in the Capital.

As for that concubine, she had already died suddenly from mistakenly eating Buddha Orchid. By the time she was discovered, her body was completely cold.

Shi Tianrui had long experienced this cousin concubine's foolish malice. She had used scheming to force her way into marriage, and Shi Tianrui just kept her in the household without even touching her. When she died, Shi Tianrui grieved for two days and then didn't think about it further. But regarding his own daughter, he treasured her especially.

Ye Jiao being able to recognize Buddha Orchid was equivalent to saving his daughter's life. Shi Tianrui naturally should repay this kindness.

When Tie Zi found him, Shi Tianrui agreed immediately and dispatched capable constables to investigate. Within two days there were results.

Because of Ye Jiao's kindness, Shi Tianrui personally made the trip.

When he came up the mountain to find Qi Yun, Qi Yun was coaxing Xu Bao together with Ye Jiao.

Though Xu Bao loved to smile and had a good temperament, he was terribly lazy.

He would sit rather than stand, and if that didn't work he would lie down on the spot, staying motionless for long periods.

When he was small, being chubby was still cute, but now that he was bigger, Qi Yun worried that being so lazy would affect his growth, so he often tried to get his little chubby son to move around and walk.

Today feeding him milk cakes, tomorrow coaxing him with cloth balls.

These methods worked well on cats and dogs, but often failed with Xu Bao.

Little Xu Bao had figured out that his parents doted on him, and even if he didn't move, they wouldn't let him go hungry, so the young couple always had to think of other methods to coax him.

So far, the most effective method was actually reading to him.

So when Shi Tianrui entered, he saw Ye Jiao and Qi Yun sitting on either side of a soft couch, with Xu Bao giggling and toddling back and forth on his short little legs between them.

When he walked to Qi Yun's side, Qi Yun would say: "If you don't teach, nature will change."

When he walked to Ye Jiao's side, Little Ginseng would turn to look at the book and read along: "The way of teaching values concentration."

Seeing this, Shi Tianrui couldn't help but smile: "Master Qi and his wife teach their son well, truly admirable."

Only then did Ye Jiao notice someone had entered. She reached out to hold Xu Bao in her arms, patting the little one's back, while saying: "Little Su, serve tea to County Magistrate Shi."

Shi Tianrui smiled and greeted Ye Jiao politely, but his eyes looked toward Qi Yun.

Second Young Master Qi stood up, touched Xu Bao's head, then went with Shi Tianrui to sit in the main hall.

Though imperial gifts had been lost, Qi Yun hadn't been anxiously worried every day. He had also told Qi Ming to calm down and focus on studying and reviewing, not to think about other matters.

Being anxious wouldn't help retrieve the items anyway, so it was better to live their lives well and wait for results.

Now that Shi Tianrui had come, Qi Yun drank tea with him and exchanged pleasantries before asking: "I wonder if there are any results regarding the matter I asked County Magistrate Shi about last time?"

Shi Tianrui set down his teacup and said to Qi Yun: "Yes, I sent people to investigate that singing girl. She's already been redeemed by the Shao family, who bought her contract and made her Fifth Master Shao's concubine."

The Shao family?

Upon hearing this surname, Qi Yun raised his eyebrows slightly: "I suppose my Third Brother's trunk can be found then."

"I'm afraid not." Shi Tianrui said in a low voice, "Someone saw Fifth Master Shao go to Prefect Shao's office earlier, carrying a box wrapped in red cloth, presumably to present a gift."

Under normal circumstances, relatives visiting each other would be perfectly ordinary, nothing worth noting.

But having just obtained a fine ink stone and purple brush from Third Young Master Qi, both excellent items, and then immediately carrying a box to the government office, it was hard not to make the connection.

As for the calligraphy samples Qi Yun had mentioned, Shi Tianrui didn't take them seriously at all.

In his view, compared to the ink stone and purple brush, those calligraphy samples weren't worth much money and weren't worth worrying about.

Who knew that Qi Yun's expression suddenly relaxed, his brow smoothing out.

From the beginning, he had never expected to get the items back. Qi Yun only wanted to know who was targeting Qi Ming.

Now knowing it was the Shao family was enough. With these troublemakers who had been operating in the shadows now in the open, there would naturally be ways to deal with them.

Building up a family wasn't easy, but bringing one down was worth trying.

Qi Yun had already quietly removed several obstacles to himself. This time with more planning, there would surely be methods.

But then Qi Yun reconsidered, his fingertip sliding along the rim of his teacup, suddenly curving his lips: "I originally thought that if the items were lost, they were lost, but now it seems there's still great hope of recovering them."

Shi Tianrui was somewhat puzzled and couldn't help asking: "What do you mean?"

Qi Yun didn't explain clearly, just smiled. But in his heart he was thinking that the Imperial Plaque had been sitting in the prefectural office for two months. Prefect Shao had probably looked it over repeatedly many times.

Now it remained to be seen whether Fifth Master Shao would be loyal enough to present the calligraphy samples along with everything else to the prefect.

If he didn't deliver them, so be it. They would just consider the good items as having fed a dog, and think of other methods later. But if he did deliver them, Third Brother's belongings would surely be recovered.

And Fifth Master Shao was indeed loyal, but he wasn't loyal to Prefect Shao, he was loyal to money.

Fifth Master Shao was very self-aware about why their Shao family could swagger around the city.

It wasn't because their business methods were so superior, nor because their ancestors had great virtue, but simply because they had a relative who was prefect.

This alone was enough.

And this prefect wasn't the type of upright official who was impervious to water and needles. The Shao family rarely had gifts refused when they sent them. When Fifth Master Shao obtained good items, he would give them to the prefect, and once he'd fed him well, he would naturally receive some benefits for his family.

This time, when Fifth Master Shao obtained the good items from Qi Ming's trunk, his first thought was naturally to send them to the prefect's residence.

But when Fifth Master Shao went there, he waited from dawn to dusk without seeing hide nor hair of the prefect. The tea in his cup was changed over and over until it lost all flavor, and only then did he finally see Prefect Shao.

This Prefect Shao was thin, with bright eyes and a goatee. Just looking at his appearance, you could tell he was a stern person.

As soon as he came out, he glared coldly at Fifth Master Shao, his voice dropping several degrees: "The fine work you've done!"

Fifth Master Shao was startled and immediately jumped up from his chair, then fell to his knees with a thud.

Prefect Shao showed no sign of being appeased, snorting coldly. After sitting down, he said in a deep voice: "Don't think I don't know about that incident on the street two days ago. Your courage has really grown, thinking you did it flawlessly?"

Fifth Master Shao was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood that Prefect Shao wasn't blaming them for attacking in the street, but for not cleaning up their tracks properly. He hurriedly lowered his head: "Sir, this... I don't know where we went wrong."

Prefect Shao snorted coldly again: "County Magistrate Shi's people have already traced it back to you. Even if your subordinates didn't go around talking, there were so many pedestrians on the road, and you even found a well-known performer to play the singing girl. How could you possibly seal everyone's mouths?"

Fifth Master Shao broke out in a sweat and immediately prostrated himself on the ground.

After a long while, he heard Prefect Shao say: "Fortunately County Magistrate Shi didn't make a big fuss, and the Qi family has also remained quiet. They're probably giving me face and not pursuing it with you. But there won't be a second time for this kind of thing. Keep your head clear in the future, understand?"

"Understood, understood." Fifth Master Shao realized there would be no consequences and immediately smiled apologetically, then crawled up and placed the box he'd brought in front of Prefect Shao. "Sir, this was truly my mistake, causing you alarm. This is my apology gift, please accept it, sir."

Prefect Shao had naturally heard about Fifth Master Shao bringing a gift, and could guess that the contents were probably Third Young Master Qi's belongings.

He originally didn't want to take them, but seeing Fifth Master Shao's eager manner, he figured it must be something rare, so he nodded lightly and had someone remove the red cloth.

Opening the box, Prefect Shao's first glance fixed on that ink stone.

This ink stone was among the finest of ink stones, and this particular one was the finest among the finest. Otherwise Emperor Chu Chengyun wouldn't have solemnly given it to Qi Yun.

Any scholar would be unable to walk away after one look.

Prefect Shao's eyes lit up as he reached out to pick it up and examine it.

But soon he also saw the purple brush beside the ink stone.

This purple brush was equally excellent, made by selecting rabbit hairs one by one from the neck and back of wild mountain rabbits. The color was purple-black, and brushes made from rabbit hairs from the northern borderlands were especially soft and precious.

And this one was brought by merchant caravans from beyond the passes. Since Qi Yun could take it out to give as a gift, naturally the rabbit hair used was of the finest quality.

Just sitting there, you could tell from looking at the brush that it was of exceptional quality.

Prefect Shao's eyes went straight, and though he knew in his heart that these items shouldn't be taken, he couldn't control his hand reaching toward them.

But before he could touch the purple brush, he saw a cloth bag.

This cloth bag was dark blue, looking quite ordinary, except the string at the bag's opening had a tassel hanging from it.

Red and green colors that were rather garish, something Ye Jiao had given to Qi Ming before.

Since it was a gift from his sister-in-law, Qi Ming naturally treasured it immensely. He wanted both to use it properly and carry it with him, so he finally chose to attach it to his own bag, both fulfilling his respect for Ye Jiao and keeping it safely in his trunk where others couldn't see it.

And this tassel was truly eye-catching and striking, making Prefect Shao unconsciously pick up that bag: "What is this?"

Fifth Master Shao quickly said: "It's a book of calligraphy samples. I can't tell if it's good or bad either, so I brought it for you to examine, sir."

Prefect Shao nodded with pretended composure, then opened the bag and took out the calligraphy samples inside.

Flipping through briefly, he felt there was nothing special about it.

But just then, he turned to the title page.

The eight characters there immediately caught Prefect Shao's eye, and his hand froze.

He stared at those characters over and over again, and then he suddenly began to shake.

First his fingertips trembled, then his arms shook, and finally his whole body seemed to stiffen.

Fifth Master Shao was startled, thinking Prefect Shao had suffered a stroke.

But before he could cry out, Prefect Shao clutched the calligraphy book and stumbled toward the back courtyard.

Fifth Master Shao hurried to follow, and then saw Prefect Shao enter a room. When he lit a candle and followed inside, he saw the room contained various miscellaneous items, nothing particularly remarkable, except for a plaque covered with red cloth placed prominently in the center of the room.

"Sir, what are you..." Fifth Master Shao stepped forward wanting to say something, but was kicked away by Prefect Shao with an "Ouch!"

Prefect Shao carefully held the calligraphy book, using his free hand to tremblingly lift the red cloth covering the plaque.

Four large characters were written there: "Noble Aspirations, Pure Conduct."

This plaque was to be bestowed upon the Qi family. Prefect Shao had kept it in the government office for two months, seeking benefits. He had thought that the Qi family were just merchants, and even if the Emperor had bestowed a plaque, it didn't amount to much.

But now thinking about it, these four characters originally weren't meant to describe merchants, but to describe people of noble character. For the Emperor to bestow these four characters was forcibly clearing away the so-called merchant air from the Qi family.

But the key wasn't in this meaning, but in the calligraphy.

Prefect Shao tremblingly held up the calligraphy book, looking at those eight characters.

"Working hard through the night, devoted and untiring."

Looking at the plaque, then at the calligraphy book, back and forth several times, Prefect Shao finally saw clearly:

This character for "devotion" was exactly, exactly the same...

Exactly the same!

Prefect Shao's vision went black, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, fainting.