Chapter 45 A Fright Night
Qin Zhi was still immersed in memories when a nanny came to report their findings. Under the withered willow roots by the side of the lotus pond, they found a strange wooden box made by agarwood.
Butler Xie took the wooden box from the nanny and opened it under the permission of Qin Zhi. A repulsive smell flowed out as he opened a crack, which made him frown. The whole room was filled with the strong and suffocating smell.
“Master, it’s musk,” Butler Xie bowed and reported.
Many women in the room took several steps back after hearing what he said. The musk could be used for making perfume and medicines. But it could also do great harm to women by such a strong smell, especially to those who were pregnant.
The agarwood box looked quite old and its openings became bigger because of the wet air from the lotus pond. It seemed that the box had been buried under the tree for several years.
“Master, I was wondering if I should tell you this thing,” Concubine Chang who stood aside cut in at the proper time, “When I was a young girl living with my parents, one of my father’s concubines took some medicines containing musk by mistake. As a result, her baby was born dead and she also passed away during the delivery. Later, the doctor told us that not only would musk lead to difficult labor, it could also cause sterility and a hard separation of the placenta. We all knew how much master had favored sister He. So, wasn’t it a strange thing that she had never gotten pregnant?”
Qin Yunuan nodded, “The agarwood box was used to cover the smell of musk. And it was buried by the side of the lotus pond, which was the favorite place of Concubine He. She could have been harmed by it during those years.”
“How ridiculous!” Dou Qing’e said disdainfully and indifferently, “You just draw the conclusion that sister He was murdered by one single box coming from nowhere? Isn’t that unconvincing? Besides, the box was buried under the roots. Why did you get it so easy?”
The nanny who sent the box lowered her head and replied, “It should have been there for a rather long time. So, I guess that it was held up by the growing roots during that time.”
Qin Zhi loosened his grip on Li Qiqi’s hands slightly and his eyes became moist, as if they had been covered by a haze. Maybe in his heart, Lian was the only one that he had really loved and cared about with his heart. At present, those old things were hurting his eyes and heart like the gravels left on the beach after falling tides.
“Butler Xie,” Qin Zhi spoke up in a cold voice, “I’ll give you three days to find the nannies and maids that had served Concubine He. Don’t forget Biddy Zhao living in the east of the city.” He did not know whether there were hidden things behind Lian’s death or not. Despite that, he could still tell that there was no peace in this courtyard from the box of musk.
Biddy Zhao used to be a barefoot midwife who was known as Biddy Zhao as her husband’s family name was Zhao. She had done fortune-telling, evil spirits dispelling, children-delivering and disease curing during that time, and thus she had some reputation in suburban areas. That was why Dou Qing’e fetched her when Concubine He was at her last gasp and no medicines worked. But what she said had led to the grudges of Qin Zhi over Qin Baochuan which had lasted for six years.
It was time to disperse. Li Qiqi was arranged to stay at a loft in an inferior building for the moment, which was not far from the Fuxi Courtyard.
Dou Qing’e’s face was not as rosy as before. She looked a little bit pale, but she tried to maintain her demeanor. Suddenly, she stepped on something slippery and was about to fall.
“Be careful of the water on the ground, mother,” Qin Yunuan was going to support her with her hands. The water spots on the ground were left by the servant girl who carried the wet clothes. Dou Qing’e drew back for several steps, as if she had been afraid of the water.
“I don’t need your help.” Dou Qing’e pushed Qin Yunuan away directly and took hold of Qin Yunzhuang’s hand. She believed that Qin Yunuan had something to do with today’s affair. Six years. Six years had passed since then. When she decided to do that, she had thought it over for thousands of times that master would investigate thoroughly and found out the murderer decisively for that bitch. Fortunately, it was an unsettling time for the royal court and Qin Zhi did not dare to do things without scruple. After all, even if he did not believe in her completely, he had to be cautious about the influence of the Dou Family.
However, it was different from today. Her relationship with Qin Zhi had never been good. A few days ago, father mentioned in the letter that Qin Zhi might have been avoiding recommending the members of the Dou Family to the emperor. He warned her to pay more attention to him. That was what you would get from raising a ruthless “wolf”. You thought that it would do things for you when it had sharp teeth and claws. To the opposite, the first one it would hurt was you, the one who tamed it like a beast.
“Cui’e!” Dou Qing’e called the dumbfound servant girl by the door discontentedly.
Cui’e looked anxious and sweats were all over her head. She was leaning against the door weakly before Dou Qing’e called her. As she followed behind Dou Qing’e, her eyes were still looking around warily, searching for the possible presence of ghosts in the Furong Courtyard. She staggered as if she had been about to fall.
The moon faded away and the sky in the east was dyed red, just like the rosy cheeks of the girls in love. Qin Yunuan was tired. She walked slowly on the stone lane. The air was wetted by moisture, and she did not notice that it had begun to drizzle.
Qin Yunuan held up her head slightly. The rain fell on her thick and delicate eyelashes and condensed into beads. Suddenly, the vast sky was covered by an oiled paper umbrella and there was a faint smell of a man in the air. The one who stood behind her laughed, with his hot breath fanning her fair neck.
“It’s raining. Don’t you walk faster?” That was Su Chenghai’s voice, which was gentle and melodious, like the spring breeze.
Looking back at Su Chenghai who was holding the umbrella, Qin Yunuan pointed at the whirling drizzle and said with a smile, “Look, the pall of rain has enveloped the whole world. Since I will still get wet if I walk faster, then what does it matter to walk slower?”
“Well,” Su Chenghai sighed lightly, “You are beyond my reach.”
Beyond his reach? Qin Yunuan was surprised by these words. It sounded that he was spoiling her. She glanced at Su Chenghai, who was holding the umbrella for her carefully, and wondered when they had become so close.
After walking for a while, the drizzles had stopped, and the golden rays of the sun lit up the sky.
“Here we are.” Outside the Fuxi Courtyard, Su Chenghai closed his green paper umbrella with twenty-four bamboo ribs. To get rid of the waterdrops on the umbrella, he knocked it gently on the rockery beside the door of the courtyard.
“You did not have a good sleep last night. Are you going out again, cousin?” Qin Yunuan asked softly.
Su Chenghai laughed, “I’ve been to the Royal City for only a short time, so I have to take care of many business things by myself. I cannot get relaxed.”
Qin Yunuan nodded and smiled faintly, “People all say that General Leng Changxi is up to his ears nowadays for the East Qin issues. But I think you are even busier than General Leng.”
Su Chenghai hesitated for a few minutes. The warm orange sunlight gradually expanded with the rising of the sun, which rimmed half of his face with golden rays. The smile on his face was like the quiet and gentle ripples caused by a tiny boat drifting with the current.
“I should go,” Su Chenghai closed his umbrella and put his hands at the back.
At this time, Tong came out to welcome Qin Yunuan and saw her standing by the door with a frown.
“Third Miss,” Tong greeted. And what Qin Yunuan said enlivened her.
“Follow him,” Qin Yunuan ordered coldly, “Follow after young master Su Chenghai and check out where he goes. Just play it by ear. If you are discovered, come back at once.”
When Su Chenghai got closer, Qin Yunuan’s uneasy heart finally calmed down like it was solidified. She never rejected Su Chenghai’s kindness, but it was not because she accepted or gave tacit consent to his actions. It was all due to his smell.
When that warm masculine smell flooded to her like tides, Qin Yunuan was excited by what it made her feel. It was a tempting smell with coldness and the fresh smell of grass, which she seemed to have met before. She had a good nose and an excellent memory, and that was the smell that she would never forget.
Besides, the callosity on the inner parts of his palms were also suspicious. Normally, those who used abacus all the time should have callosity on their fingers. Having callosity on the inner parts of palms usually happened to those who had been using arms for a long time.
Qin Yunuan believed in his personality, but she could not totally trust in his carefully concealed identity.
In less than an hour, Qin Yunuan was woken up by nurse Liao from her bed. She could also hear the noises coming from the outside.
In the Furong Courtyard, someone was circled by Butler Xie and other inferiors. It was Cui’e who was in the center of the circle, looking miserable and frightened. She was burning yellow papers. The ashes were blown away in a flash by the chilly spring wind.
“How dare you,” Butler Xie had been waiting in the Furong Courtyard for a whole night as he had got some information. As expected, before the daybreak, he caught sight of Cui’e who came here stealthily to worship with yellow paper. “Tell me, why did you come here alone and burn paper money at the Furong Courtyard at midnight?”
Cui’e was a smart and courteous servant girl during normal time. But now, with dark circles under her furtive eyes, she just shook her head worriedly and then murmured, “It wasn’t me. It really wasn’t me. Don’t come to me if you make your presence, Concubine He. Go to that woman, please.”
Cui’e repeated this when Butler Xie asked her several more times. It looked that she had lost her mind.
A servant beside Butler Xie approached him carefully, “Butler Xie, does she lose her mind?”
Butler Xie glared at him and then gave orders, “Inform master at the Shunchang Courtyard and madam at the Cui Xuan courtyard.” He was a prudent man. To begin with, he had to attach most importance to Qin Zhi, as he was under his command to guard the yard. But the real ruler of family affairs had been Dou Qing’e. He had to show due respect to her feelings. Without her support, even he could not get along all right in the family.
“No need.” The voice was gentle and pleasant, but the tone still sounded a little cruel.
Nobody noticed that Dou Qing’e had arrived. The make-up on her face that was done in a hurry could not cover her prostration. There was a murderous look in her eyes when she confirmed that it was her maid Cui’e who was being surrounded.