Chapter 105.1
Zhao Heng resented Wei Zhan for being so rude to Li Wenjian earlier, so she turned her head angrily and buried it in Li Wenjian's arms. The red rope tying her hair fell loose and drooped down.
Li Wenjian untied her red rope and his slender and symmetrical fingers weaved her hair back into two round tufts in a leisurely manner.
Zhao Heng nestled in Li Wenjian's arms, turned her head to glare at him again. Wei Zhan thought her sulking appearance resembled a pufferfish and playfully poked her slightly puffed cheek, smiling brightly.
"Don't tease Ah Heng." Li Wenjian protected her, his voice calm with a hint of unknown joy, and reminded Wei Zhan, "She's timid, unlike Qinghan and the others."
"It hasn't been long since we last met, but you seem different." Wei Zhan's tall figure blocked the sunlight in front of him, smiling as he asked, "We're supposed to be best friends, yet you're always protecting this little tiger cub."
Li Wenjian looked up and met his eyes, half-smiling, "She is under my care, so of course, I have to protect her."
Wei Zhan snorted, "I've only been gone for less than three months, and you've already found a new playmate and taken my sister to farm."
Li Wenjian was used to Wei Zhan's words and calmly said, "Alright, stop always clashing with Zhao Heng. You've finally come back, let's plan a time to go spring outing together."
"Always playing around, what nonsense." Wei Zhan put down his hand with a snort, "Let's put off the spring outing for now. I have other things to ask you."
His smile faded, his expression serious, with a hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
Li Wenjian looked at Zhao Heng and crouched down, speaking gently to her, "Zhao Heng, go play outside for now."
Zhao Heng looked worriedly at Li Wenjian. He touched her head and managed to give her a faint smile, "Be good, it's okay, you can go."
She turned hesitantly and walked away.
Halfway there, she ran into Wei Wanyu, who came bouncing over to find her.
She pulled out a handful of sparkling jade beads from her pocket like a treasure, "Zhao Heng, my brother is back, and he brought me so many beautiful beads."
She always shared good things with Zhao Heng, thinking she would be happy to see these beautiful beads, but to her surprise, Zhao Heng just glanced at them and nonchalantly said, "Oh."
"I'll share half with you." Wei Wanyu generously said.
Li Wenjian tied his hair a bit tight, and Zhao Heng gave it a tug, loosening the hair tie a bit, shaking her head, "I don't want it."
"Why not?" Wei Wanyu pushed her hand holding the jade beads forward, disappointedly asking, "Don't you like it?"
Zhao Heng glanced over, the jade beads were beautiful, transparent like glass, even more dazzling than glass. She pursed her lips and said, "I like beads, I just don't like your brother."
"What's wrong with my brother?" Wei Wanyu's round face drooped, her brother had just returned home and came to find Brother Shulang, how did he end up with Zhao Heng?
Zhao Heng then recounted how Wei Zhan broke in and knocked Li Wenjian down, pouting to Wei Wanyu, "He hit Brother Shulang."
Wei Wanyu put the beads back in her pocket, explaining to Zhao Heng holding her arm, saying that Wei Zhan and Li Wenjian often practiced martial arts together. Sometimes, Wei Zhan would knock Li Wenjian down, and sometimes Li Wenjian would knock Wei Zhan down, but they were still good friends after the fights.
Adults said they were just practicing martial arts.
"They're good friends. Friends don't nitpick about these little things." Wei Wanyu glanced at Zhao Heng, afraid she might be mad at her brother for something and not want to plant the crops together.
She had just planted a line of sweet melons the day before, and they hadn't sprouted yet.
*
The servants came in and out to tidy up the mess in the room, while Wei Zhan held a thin sheet of gold paper in his hands. The April sunshine bathed him, but he seemed unaffected, his hands trembling slightly.
He raised his eyes and saw Li Wenjian in a mountain blue round-necked robe. Because of their recent scuffle, a bit of his red inner shirt neckline peeked out, and his gentle eyes were looking at him with a puzzled expression.
He walked up to him and handed him the paper back, his expression inevitably somber.
"Just because of this, you specifically sent this letter, asking me to send Zhaoye away?"
The sunlight was shining brightly, Li Wenjian was holding a cup of cold tea, his eyes downcast, his long feather-like lashes casting a deep shade in his eyes, making his already pale skin appear a bit fragile.
"The Crown Prince has always trusted the Crown Princess. Their relationship is so deep that if she says to deposed by him, then he will. Isn't that strange? Wang Zhao is the Crown Princess's cousin, I guess when they traveled south with the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's heir, they encountered something on the way and turned back to the capital, secretly managing the Hui Xian Mansion and develop so many other industries."
"After the Crown Prince's death, the Great Wei Dynasty was already declining, and they knew there was no turning back. So, they lurked in the capital, biding their time." Wei Zhan pushed open the half-open window and listened to Li Wenjian mentioning the Crown Prince, looking up at the sky dotted with clouds, "The year Zhaoye returned to the capital happened to be when the Crown Prince dismissed the Crown Princess... It does seem too coincidental..."
Over the years, Mister Liang had been traveling to raise military provisions, seldom in the capital. Most of the time, Zhaoye lived with them, and the bond they shared was not just like that of brothers but even stronger.
"Wang Zhao is confident in his intelligence, inserting a hidden knife next to us. As he grows older, he will surely turn this knife towards us." Li Wenjian's eyes fell on the wisps of steam rising from the tea stove, his hands clenched into fists lightly, the light flickering in his eyes, "I won't let him harm you anymore, not even a bit."
Wei Zhan suddenly understood this news, his mind still a mess. He didn't take Li Wenjian's words to heart and continued to gaze at the sky with a frown, "I will investigate with An Daren. If... I mean if, he really is the Crown Prince's heir, if he killed the real Liang Xingyan, what do you plan to do?"
Under the sunlight, the thick lashes cast a faint shadow under Li Wenjian's eyelids. He pursed his lips, unsure how to speak.
"I will kill him," Wei Zhan's voice choked, "Your hands must not be stained with blood, I'll be your blade."
Seeing Li Wenjian's hesitance, Wei Zhan uttered a word and then turned to walk out. Blossoms were scattered by the spring breeze, floating and sinking in the air, falling in the courtyard.
*
On that day, the weather was not great, dark clouds piled up on the horizon, casting a dull gray hue on the courtyard and greenery.
Zhao Heng sat behind the desk writing, but due to being preoccupied, she stopped the pen after writing two characters and absentmindedly looked out into the courtyard.
The sky seemed to be brewing up a storm, and Ying Que was busy moving orchids from the courtyard to the veranda to avoid the rain.
While busy, Chunxi ran in from outside.
"Chunxi." Ying Que's gaze fell on her slightly swollen eyes, asking, "Where did you go? Why were you crying?"
Chunxi's eyelashes trembled, her voice tinged with tears, "I just went home to see my elder brother. He's still not fully recovered, and I felt sad looking at his injuries, so I cried."
Concerned about disturbing Zhao Heng, Ying Que took Chunxi to the veranda and spoke in a lowered voice.
Zhao Heng noticed their actions and was curious about what they were hiding from her. She leaned in closer to the window to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Keep your voice down, the young girl is studying, don't disturb her," Ying Que handed Chunxi a handkerchief to dry her eyes, "Have you tried that remedy I told you about last time?"
"Not yet." Chunxi looked worried, her face filled with sorrow, "Everything else is fine, but the hundred year old Luo Han Guo root is too hard to find."
"Keep asking around, find it no matter how difficult it is. I heard that a persistent cough can damage the lungs and heart, and it may be irreversible," Ying Que reminded her.
Chunxi exclaimed, tears falling again, trembling as she said, "I'll go back now and have them ask someone else to find it."
"Hurry, hurry." Ying Que's expression was not good. Chunxi's elder brother had been sick for a long time and showed no signs of improvement. She had heard that he had started coughing up blood recently.
Considering the urgency of the matter, Chunxi didn't dare delay and quickly ran off.
Listening to their conversation, Zhao Heng's heart sank a little. Ever since his last injury, Brother Shulang had been suffering from a persistent cough. That morning, when she went to the Yanshanju to see him, he hadn't fully recovered yet.
Seeing him suffer so, she felt really distressed. Brother Shulang was like an exquisite porcelain vase, needing delicate handling. Seeing him in a fragile state, she wished she could take on his illness for him.
But she couldn't help him.
She gently twirled the brush handle, a decision forming in her mind.
She had encountered a Bai Nian Luo Han tree when she went herb-picking in the mountains before. The tree's canopy was as large as a roof, dense with foliage and abundant fruits. Uncle Li had mentioned that this tree was probably several hundred years old.
Ying Que had said that the remedy could treat coughs. Would bringing back the Luo Han root be able to save Chunxi's elder brother and Brother Shulang?
She decided to go back to gather the Luo Han root.
Not one to dwell on thoughts, once she made a decision, any lingering frustration disappeared from her heart. She changed into narrow-sleeved garden attire and tucked the copper coins she had hidden under the pillow into her sleeve before leaving the house.
Seeing her attire, Ying Que set down the flower pot she was holding and stood up, asking her, "It's about to rain. Where are you heading, miss?"
"I just planted some green peas yesterday, buried them quite shallow, I'm afraid the rain will wash the seeds out, so I'm going to check on them," Zhao Heng nervously clutched her skirt.
"After I move these two pots, I'll join you," Ying Que said with a smile.
"It's alright."
Zhao Heng hurriedly said, "You go ahead and finish your tasks first. Once I'm done planting, I'll come back. I want to eat the sugar cakes you make. After you finish moving the orchids, could you make some for me?"
Ying Que thought that Zhao Heng had been in the mansion for quite some time and had often played with a few other young girls on her own. The route must have been familiar to her.
After a moment's thought, she nodded, "Alright, you come back soon, and I'll make the sugar cakes for you."
"Okay." Zhao Heng nodded heavily.
As she turned to leave, Ying Que called her back, "Put on the rain cape and hat, it might start raining on the way."
Zhao Heng obediently turned back, searching for her rain cape and hat in the utility room, then set off.
Zhao Heng rented a cart from the carriage shop to return to Xuejia Village.
The sky was rumbling, and she sat at the front of the cart with the carter. The carter took the initiative to strike up a conversation with her, "Why is a young lady traveling alone? Where are you heading?"
Zhao Heng didn't like chatting with strangers, so she ignored him and silently took out a big biscuit from her pocket to chew on. She hadn't eaten lunch, and the hard biscuit made her eyes teary.
Seeing a dirty young child traveling alone seemed somewhat pitiful, so the carter handed her his water flask.
Zhao Heng glanced at it, pursed her lips, and quietly said, "Thank you, but I'm not thirsty."
The carter, seeing that despite her young age, she seemed very alert, didn't say anything more, focusing on driving the cart.
Zhao Heng discreetly observed him out of the corner of her eye, feeling relieved when he didn't continue the conversation, easing the tension in her heart.
Arriving at the village entrance, she asked the carter to drop her off, proceeding to enter the mountains alone.
The Bai Nian Luo Han tree wasn't in deep mountains, and she had often been to the area where it was located while picking mushrooms, so she didn't feel the need to inform Uncle Li. Instead, she ventured into the mountains alone.
Halfway there, the rain that had been brewing, accompanied by distant thunder, finally poured down. The thunder roared overhead, and the trees in the mountain forest rustled in the wind, sounding like wailing ghosts, sending shivers down the spine.
Zhao Heng shrank her neck, tightened the grass rope of her rain cape, pushing through the intertwining thorns with a hatchet, edging closer in the direction of the Bai Nian Luo Han tree from her memory.
Raindrops the size of peas dripped through the dense leaves, forming long strings as they fell down the edge of her hat. Ignoring the water droplets covering her face, she wiped them away with her hand and continued forward.
Finally reaching the Bai Nian Luo Han tree, she dug up a large root with the hatchet, wrapped it in oil paper, and placed it in her backpack. As she turned to head back, she stepped on a dry branch, losing her balance and sliding down the slope below.
*
At An Mansion.
Ying Que moved all the orchids to the corridor and went to the kitchen to make the sugar cakes that Zhao Heng wanted to eat. Thinking that the spring rain could last for several days, she couldn't go to the vegetable garden, so she stayed indoors to write, worried that she would be bored. She also made some peanut pastries to snack on.
But after finishing the sugar cakes and peanut pastries, Zhao Heng still hadn't returned.
The raindrops poured from the sky.
Ying Que went out with an umbrella to find her in the garden, but after a thorough search, she still couldn't find her. Even after asking the garden-keeper and the maidservants, no one had seen her come this way.
With a sense of urgency, Ying Que braved the rain and hurried towards the Yanshunju.
Li Wenjian's body had almost recovered, but one night, a few stray cats entered his yard and howled on the low wall for most of the night. Unable to sleep, he got up to chase away the cats and caught a chill, developing symptoms of a cough that persisted daily.
As he was about to rest after taking his medication, he heard the news that Ying Que had arrived. Knowing that it must be something concerning Zhao Heng, he stood up, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room.
Ying Que rushed to Li Wenjian, falling to her knees in a loud thud, "Young Master, Ah Heng is missing."
Upon hearing this, Li Wenjian immediately instructed Mu Gui to search everywhere. Not long after, a household servant from the side gate reported that Zhao Heng had left before noon wearing a rain cape and hat.
Ying Que was on the verge of tears, "She told me she was going to the vegetable garden to check the green peas we planted yesterday. How could she sneak out of the estate?"
Li Wenjian looked up at the pouring rain, furrowing his brows, "Before she left, did she say anything?"
"No," Ying Que replied, "She was writing in the morning, and suddenly wanted to visit her vegetable garden. While I was moving the orchids in the courtyard, I told her to wait for me so we could go together. But she said she wanted to eat sugar cakes and asked me to make some for her before she returned."
Ying Que regretted, "If only I had insisted she wait for me."
"Did anything happen before she left?" Li Wenjian asked, "Tell me everything."