"I'm fine
," Yaotai smiled, but her lips were pale. "I didn't hide it from you on purpose. I was afraid you would worry."
Li Qingwu sat silently beside the couch without saying anything.
"Okay, don't be angry," Yaotai said softly, "If I told you then, it would only cause you more trouble."
"No, if you told me when you wrote to me before, then..." Then she could try to find out if there were any extra rattan grass.
Although this thing may not really have the effect of resurrecting the dead, it is indeed effective.
But Jiang Bo also said that only one person with a destiny can see it, and it will take decades for one to see it.
And after the rattan grass is picked, it will die within two days if it leaves the water of Taohua River.
In any case, even if Li Qingwu knew about Yaotai's situation in advance, he would not be able to bring the rattan grass back if he did not treat his foot injury.
This is an unsolvable dead end.
Li Qingwu thought of this and his voice stopped again.
She closed her eyes: "What did Doctor Chen say?"
"He said I...won't die within three months," Yaotai smiled, coughed twice, and her lips became paler, "but those few cuts were a bit cruel, thanks to Doctor Chen for finding a bunch of medicine to keep me alive, otherwise..."
Otherwise, in this ancient time when medical technology was not developed at all, she would have died on the spot on the day she was stabbed.
Her internal organs were severely injured, and she could hardly get out of bed for the past two months. All the account books were handed over to Yuming to take care of.
And she was always drowsy. In two months, she slept for more than 40 days, and there were too few days when she was awake.
Yang Qiu came to see her every day. At first, he would try to say something to wake her up, but later, he said less and less.
Yaotai was like a flower that had been gorgeous, but now it was on the verge of withering, and it quickly withered, and the whole person seemed shaky.
But they could only watch.
Watching her painfully swallowing medicine, struggling to survive, but sleeping day after day, waking up and never knowing what day it was.
There was nothing they could do.
Li Qingwu put his hand on the back of her thinner hand, and when he lowered his eyes, his eyes were red: "You shouldn't have angered him. Yuan Fu is a lunatic."
If Yaotai hadn't said those words to anger the other party, Li Qingwu might not have been killed by him directly.
Yaotai looked at him but didn't care, sighed and said: "I know what you are thinking... but it's none of your business. I said those words, but I was angry."
Li Qingwu's eyes moved, and he raised his eyes to meet hers.
"I haven't told you yet, right? My former lover left me because I found out that he was having an affair outside... and I happened to have a terminal illness. He used this reason to leave me."
Yaotai pulled the corner of her mouth, her eyes dim: "I hate all men who can't control their lower body."
It is hard to tell whether she was scolding Yuan Fu or scolding the "lover" who had betrayed her after decades.
"What about you?" Li Qingwu choked slightly in his throat and raised his voice, "Have you ever thought about what those words will bring to you?"
Yaotai shook her head and said, "I didn't have much time to live anyway."
In her previous life, she was suffering from a terminal illness and was on the verge of death, but she suddenly traveled through time. The extra twenty years of life is already a gift from God.
She has no worries. In this world, no one loves her, and she doesn't love anyone.
It doesn't matter if she dies.
What she is more afraid of is that because of her travel through time, the original historical trajectory will be disrupted.
She envied the feelings of the couple and was moved by their contributions to history.
If because of her intervention, the couple died at a time when they shouldn't die, then she would be guilty of a great sin.
Li Qingwu didn't understand the meaning of this sentence. He frowned and looked at her. After a while, he said, "... I'll go find Jiang Bo."
Chen Huichun is Jiang Bo's apprentice. Chen Huichun can't cure it, but it doesn't mean that Jiang Bo can't cure it.
What if?
After Li Qingwu finished speaking, he was about to stand up, but Yaotai reached out and grabbed him again: "Wait."
Li Qingwu turned around.
Yaotai blinked: "Actually... I am not from this world, do you believe it?"
Li Qingwu was silent.
Her good upbringing prevented her from saying anything insulting or making any questioning expressions.
But her silence was enough to explain the problem.
"Oh, I'm serious." Yaotai laughed, coughing as she laughed, "Don't disbelieve it... Otherwise, go ask City Lord Qiu. Your city lord must have already investigated me thoroughly. She knows that I have never had any lovers before - of course, I don't mean to say that I lied to you, but that what I said is true, and what your city lord found is also true."
Li Qingwu didn't say whether he believed it or not, but helplessly pulled down her hand, tucked the corner of the quilt for her, and whispered: "Don't talk anymore."
Yaotai didn't have much strength to begin with, and she sighed when she heard it, and shut up.
Li Qingwu was determined to save her, and she would not cry until she saw the coffin. Others said that Yaotai was hopeless and that they could prepare for the funeral in a few months. She turned back to the Princess's Mansion and discussed with Qiu Che to send a letter to Jiang Bo to ask if he could come to the capital. It
was difficult to enter the Peach Blossom Spring, but easy to leave. They still couldn't figure out how Jiang Bo took them in, and they were confused when they came out.
Qiu Che expressed his support for her decision, and they immediately wrote a letter together and sent it to Jinzhou.
At the same time, the news that Qiu Che and the others had returned alive spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital within a day.
The next day, Qiu Che went to court as usual, and she still felt a little bit like she was in another world.
No matter how much the court officials regretted that she didn't die in private, they were also friendly to her on the surface, and no one dared to offend her.
It seems that after two months of not seeing each other, the power brought by Lord Qiu's madness last time has not diminished.
What is different from usual is that now in the court, next to the emperor, there is a queen mother who is behind the curtain.
On the third day after they came back, the rumors about the two of them in the capital gradually subsided. With the help of the emperor's withdrawal of suppression and deliberate support, Li Qingwu's business was back on track.
Everything seemed to have returned to normal before they left Beijing.
On the fifth day, Qiu Chudong suddenly came to the door.
He came with gifts and a smile on his face, which was completely different from his previous arrogant look.
Wang Shi couldn't bring herself to drive him away, and she was relieved until Qiu Che came.
She was very confident in Qiu Che, and she was not worried that she would suffer in front of Qiu Chudong. She immediately stood up and said, "Then mother will go to make clothes for you first. Winter is coming, and you can't live without a decent piece of clothing..."
Qiu Che nodded halfway, and Qiu Chudong stood in front of the mother and daughter again, blocking Wang Shi's way, and said with a smile, "Don't be in a hurry to leave. In fact, I came here today to invite your mother back home..."
He had just talked so much nonsense with Wang Shi here, and now he came to reveal his real purpose.
Wang was surprised, and Qiu Che turned cold, blocking Wang behind him and said, "What do you mean?"
Qiu Chudong rubbed his hands and motioned for his servants to bring the things up.
The red cloth on the plate was removed, revealing two pairs of golden round earrings.
Qiu Chudong said cheerfully, "It's just a small token of my apology for what happened to your brother before... Look, it's been such a long time. Your mother is a married woman and a concubine. It's so against the rules for her to live with you in the princess's mansion alone."
Qiu Che narrowed his eyes slightly, "It's against the rules for her to live here for so long. What have you been doing?"
Qiu Chudong choked and coughed awkwardly, trying to continue to persuade him with emotion and reason:
"It's just to please you... Che'er, you've been making a fuss for so long, you should be satisfied. At most, after returning home, I will make your mother a co-wife, so that she will be on an equal footing with the first lady in the future, and won't let her do those rough and tiring work anymore..."
"Make a fuss..." Qiu Che chewed on the two words, as if he found it funny, "Do you think I'm making a fuss?"
"What else?" Qiu Chudong gritted his teeth and said, "Your father knows that I treated you and your daughter unfairly in the past, but I will never do that again..."
Qiu Che interrupted him coldly, "If all you have to say is this nonsense, please leave immediately."
"The princess's mansion does not accept trash."
Qiu Chudong did not expect her to be so disrespectful. After being humiliated again and again, he was a little impatient.
But he still managed a charitable smile, "It's okay, I know, you are just still angry with your father."
Qiu Che: "No."
Qiu Chudong's face froze.
Qiu Che raised his head and said calmly, "Don't take yourself too seriously - I am indeed betting, but not out of anger - but gambling."
She bet on herself, betting that Qiu Chudong's beloved son would never be as good as her, not as good as this - the daughter that Qiu Chudong always looked down on. Qiu
Chudong licked his lips, angry, and speechless.
He took a few deep breaths and said, "You must make everyone suffer to feel comfortable, right?"
Qiu Che said bluntly, "If you are quiet, I am living well in the princess's mansion now, and I will naturally not care about you... You should ask yourself, who is it that doesn't want others to feel comfortable."
Qiu Chudong: "Okay... okay, okay! I, Qiu Chudong, really raised a good daughter! In this case, don't blame me for not being kind in the future!"
Qiu Che sneered: "Your kindness, it's better not to have it."
Qiu Chudong's nose was crooked with anger, and he turned around and left, his face full of anger, and even took away the plate of earrings and the basin.
The servants followed behind and almost couldn't catch up with his pace.
Yu Ming personally sent the person to the door, and only came back to report after making sure that the person had left.
Wang said worriedly: "You are so rude today... I'm afraid your father will hate you for this."
Yang Qiu was right. Qiu Che was good in everything, but he was unwilling to leave himself a way out.
Qiu Che sat at the top, drank a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and said lightly: "I have been holding a grudge for a long time, and this time is not a big deal - mother, you don't really think that he regrets it again and wants to invite you back, right?"
Wang hesitated and said: "Isn't it?"
"He let you stay in the princess's mansion for so long, and he didn't react at all. It's obvious that he doesn't care where you live."
"He came to surrender at this time, only because..."
Qiu Che suddenly paused when he said this.
Wang was puzzled: "Why?"
After a long while, Qiu Che said ambiguously: "Because of profit."
Wang knew half of it, and seeing that she seemed to be thinking about something and didn't want to continue, although she was worried, she didn't ask any more.
Qiu Che said: "In the future, no matter what he comes, you don't have to see him."
Wang nodded quickly.
Qiu Che left the main hall and walked towards the study along the way he came, but his pace slowed down. What
she didn't say in front of Wang was that Qiu Chudong came to her at this time and asked Wang to go back in order to find Qiu Che's weakness.
He was so anxious, he must have heard some rumors that made him eager to control Qiu Che again.
And just a day ago, Qiu Che had just finished writing the case file of the Qiu family's murder case.
According to the procedure, it would take about three days to send it to the emperor.
The file was compiled by Qiu Che herself, without the help of others. Except for Li Qingwu and Yu Ming, no one knew what she was investigating.
If Qiu Chudong was anxious to control her again so that she would withdraw the case, then where did he get the news from?
Presumably, the other party's information was not very accurate, otherwise Qiu Chudong would not just ask for peace in a good tone today, but would rush in and point at her, scolding her for being an unfilial daughter.
... Or there is another possibility that the other party deliberately gave Qiu Chudong incomplete information.
I don't know if he came to ask for peace because that person deliberately designed it, or Qiu Chudong decided it on his own.
Qiu Che was more inclined to slap his forehead.
But this couldn't explain why the dilapidated Qiu Mansion could still produce two sets of gold earrings without her supplying the Qiu Mansion with a steady stream of salary.
Thinking of the pattern she had just glanced at and saw under the earrings, Qiu Che paused slightly.
She took a step and went to the master bedroom.
Li Qingwu was checking the account book, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other.
When he saw her come in, he immediately put down what he was doing and asked, "Did the person leave?"
Qiu Che said "um" and walked straight to the table, then remembered that there was no extra paper and pen in the room.
She stretched out her hand and said, "Give me the pen."
Li Qingwu didn't understand, but he handed it over immediately.
Qiu Che tore off a piece of waste paper at random and quickly drew a pattern on the paper with his pen.
She pushed the pattern in front of Li Qingwu and asked, "Do you recognize this?"
Li Qingwu stared at it for a few seconds and shook his head sincerely: "It looks familiar. It should be the trademark of a Beijing business, but... I can't remember it."
There are too many logos of various business houses, and it is normal not to remember it.
This can only prove that the item came from a jewelry store in Beijing, and the person hiding behind the scenes may be wealthy.
Qiu Che thought about it and told Li Qingwu what happened just now.
While talking, he drew a simple interpersonal relationship diagram on paper with a pen.
Wu Xiang â Mastermind/Allies of Wu Xiang (doubtful) (malice, enemy) (related to Nanyi) (the information network is quite comprehensive) (maybe a separate camp)
Yuan Fu â Mastermind (malice, enemy) (hands and eyes all over the sky) (most likely the emperor)
Eyeliner Anan â Mastermind (unknown camp) (unknown purpose) (most likely the prince/third prince)
Qiu Chudong â Mastermind (unknown camp) (maybe wealthy) (unknown purpose)
The four masterminds are all shrouded in mystery.
The strangest thing about Qiu Che is that it seems that since she got married in high school, all the malice against her has been caused by this mastermind.
She feels that according to the clues, the four people have nothing in common, but she also has an inexplicable intuition -
how could it be so coincidental that so many masterminds are behind her?
She has reason to suspect that there is actually one person behind all these things.
The other party has malice towards her, and this malice is gradually increasing.
That person has a wide network of contacts, a comprehensive information network, and is very cautious. He monitors her in secret and always releases some specious clues to confuse her direction, but he himself hides behind these events and never shows up.
Very strange.
Too strange.
The more Qiu Che thought about it, the more headache she had. Recalling her previous life, there has never been such a person.
She pondered for a moment, sighed, and said, "Forget it, never mind."
Anyway, she was already on the cusp of the storm.
It doesn't matter if the storm comes more violently.
Li Qingwu patted the back of her hand soothingly, just as a comfort.
On the way back from the court the next day, it rained a little.
It was winter, and the weather in the north of Chaojing was so cold that it was almost frosty. The horse's hooves could slip when the carriage was on the road.
Slowly driving to the fork in the road of East Street in the capital, Qiu Che suddenly remembered something and stopped Yu Yan who was driving the carriage.
The road in the alley was not easy to walk, so she got off the carriage and asked Yu Yan to wait for a while. She looked up at the rain in the sky, passed by the people rushing around, and walked towards East Street.
She owed Li Qingwu two sugar figures, and she still remembered it, but she would forget it every time she passed by here.
The owner of the pastry shop was named Xu, and he was also from Yeming City. Qiu Che had told Li Qingwu that he knew him before, and he was not joking.
Seeing Qiu Che stopped in front of the shop with an umbrella, Boss Xu asked her what she wanted with a smile.
Qiu Che opened her mouth and said, "...I want three sugar figures."
"There are many styles of sugar figures. What kind do you want?"
Qiu Che thought for a while: "Jade Rabbit, Chang'e, and Sun Wukong."
The boss smiled and said yes, and soon handed the wrapped sugar figure to her.
Qiu Che still had her hand in her sleeve bag, and hadn't taken out the copper coins yet, when she heard a sound of uniform footsteps, coming from far away and approaching quickly.
She immediately tensed up and looked up. The people around her screamed and scattered, and the Jinyiwei in flying fish uniforms surrounded her.
The leader was riding a tall horse and looked at her with a complicated expression - he was an old acquaintance.
"Lord Qiu."
Liu Buxiu said, "...long time no see."
Qiu Che paused for a moment when he took out the money, and then continued to take out the copper coins calmly.
Three copper coins were neatly placed on the table with a clinking sound.
She turned her head and said, "Lord Liu, what's the matter? Such a big fuss."
"I am ordered to invite Lord Qiu to the palace," Liu Buxiu turned over and dismounted, paused, and said in a low voice with an imperceptible sigh, "Someone sued you in front of the emperor for bullying men and women, forcing a good girl to have a miscarriage. Her mother was so angry that she died, and the girl almost committed suicide..." "
Right now, the ministers are indignant."
He turned sideways and said seriously: "-Lord Qiu, please come in."