Chapter 80 - 2#
World 4: You Are the Snow on the Branch#
A-Niu sat outside the carriage and said with admiration, “The Qi family’s traditions have always been upright and pure, so the children they raise are naturally extraordinary.”
The hunter who had killed a tiger nodded repeatedly in agreement.
The two began to discuss the Qi family’s various acts of concern for the country and the people. Their words were full of reverence, and naturally, they discussed the beautiful and kind-hearted Miss Qi the most, their admiration overflowing in their words.
Qin Qing listened attentively, the corners of his mouth gradually curling into a mocking arc.
He glanced at Ye Li beside him.
Ye Li looked outside, his handsome face expressionless, but his eyes had darkened a few shades. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment.
“What do you think of this Miss Qi?” Qin Qing asked, pointing at the young woman in the porridge shed.
Ye Li withdrew his gaze and praised, “Miss Qi harbors righteousness in her heart, is generous and benevolent, like unpolished jade and unrefined gold. She is naturally a model for women.”
Qin Qing turned his head, his clear eyes holding flowing light, and looked Ye Li up and down, over and over again. This gaze contained amusement and mockery, as if looking at a joke.
For some reason, Ye Li felt extremely uncomfortable. This gaze had no warmth, making it even more unbearable than the sticky, ambiguous looks from before.
“Why is the Little Marquis looking at me?” Ye Li asked, pretending to be open and candid.
Qin Qing slowly retreated to the opposite seat and hugged the sleeping fat cat into his arms.
“Ye Li, when we first met, I thought you were highly skilled in martial arts, brave and resourceful, definitely not a thing of the pool. I disguised myself as a groom to interact with you because I appreciated you. But now, I realize I misjudged you.”
Ye Li felt even more uncomfortable.
Qin Qing misjudged him? Did that mean he no longer appreciated him, no longer thought he was brave and resourceful, worthy of cultivation?
Clearly, it was a rash judgment from someone who didn’t understand him, yet Ye Li felt his mind in turmoil, annoyed and unwilling.
“The Little Marquis praises me too much. I am just a mediocre person. I have no strategy, just some strength,” Ye Li said with a smile, enduring the discomfort in his heart.
“You are right, I overestimated you. You are no different from A-Niu, from those hunters, from many others.” Qin Qing nodded nonchalantly, his fingertips stroking the fur on the fat cat’s back stroke by stroke.
He had originally held Ye Li in extremely high esteem, yet at this moment, he regarded him as nothing.
No matter who said these words, Ye Li wouldn’t have felt much. His mind was extremely firm, his will very strong; how could he be disturbed by a sentence or two of negation?
But at this moment, he was indeed disturbed.
Qin Qing looked down on him. This thought made him extremely uncomfortable.
Why did Qin Qing suddenly become like this? Clearly, he had previously peeked at him with such fervent eyes, but now he was so indifferent, like casually glancing at an ordinary gray stone on the roadside.
Ye Li wanted to ask clearly, but he couldn’t do so. He was a servant, and how could a servant be assertive?
He could only endure…
Qin Qing stroked the fat cat in his arms while smiling faintly: “If I were this Qi Siyu, I would be ashamed to show my face. With a good heart, she did such a stupid thing. Is distributing porridge done this way—”
Speaking up to here, he paused, suddenly feeling it was dull.
“Why am I telling you this? You wouldn’t understand anyway.” He glanced at Ye Li with extreme weariness, turned around, and lay down quietly facing the carriage wall.
He was very lonely because at this moment, no one could understand his words.
However, Ye Li understood. Everyone here and now didn’t understand, but Ye Li understood clearly and plainly.
Surprise flashed in his eyes, and complex emotions surged constantly, difficult to calm. He thought his observations, thoughts, and feelings wouldn’t be understood by others, but he suddenly realized that Qin Qing, whom he originally thought was stupid and unbearable, actually understood him.
Ye Li’s expression changed several times, feeling several times worse than before.
He knew what Qin Qing was saying, he also knew what Qin Qing saw and worried about, but at this moment, he was an illiterate refugee. He had to pretend not to understand anything. He even had to praise Qi Siyu against his conscience.
So being despised and rejected by Qin Qing became an inevitable result. How could someone as noble and intelligent as Qin Qing continue to appreciate a vulgar and stupid person?
Ye Li shouldn’t care about Qin Qing’s opinion, but damn it, he cared extremely! He now felt so stifled he wished he could punch the carriage wall hard.
Damn it!
Ye Li failed to maintain the demeanor of a prince and cursed very inelegantly in his heart. He irritably pulled down the bamboo curtain, no longer looking at the noisy scene outside.
“Miss, the Fourth Prince was looking at you intently just now,” a maid whispered in Qi Siyu’s ear.
Qi Siyu looked at the carriage by the roadside without leaving a trace, pursed her red lips, and smiled slightly.
The porridge was finished, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the convoy was able to continue moving forward. With a fierce tiger guarding the carriage and many hunters following, the journey was naturally safe and smooth.
Seeing the fierce tiger placed in front of the carriage from afar, the refugees immediately scattered like birds and beasts, and the bandits lurking on both sides of the road didn’t even dare to show their faces.
The vast Marquis residence was close at hand. Towering pavilions and terraces were lit with brilliant lights in the night, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding dried-up fields, dilapidated farmhouses, and the sallow, despairing villagers.
Because groups of refugees had passed through in mighty contingents, the road leading to the Marquis residence was trampled into potholes. Occasionally, there were deep pits dug by bandits across the road, which could trap the carriage wheels if one wasn’t careful.
Qin Qing was shaken left and right, his head repeatedly hitting the carriage wall. Several times, Ye Li wanted to reach out and pull the Little Marquis over to secure him by his side, but his fingers moved slightly only to immediately clench into a fist.
This person was someone he absolutely could not touch.
Qin Qing covered his red and swollen forehead, climbed up, and lifted the curtain to look ahead.
“That is my home!” he said excitedly.
“So you are the Little Heir of the Marquis residence,” the hunter who killed the tiger said with not much fear.
“Thank you, hero, for escorting me home. May I ask for your honorable name?” Qin Qing said happily.
“Little Marquis can just call me Liu San. I am a hunter from the neighboring Liu Family Village.”
“If you hunt such wild game again, just send it to my residence. I will accept it all.”
“Recently, tigers and wolf packs have frequently appeared nearby, so there are often top-quality goods. In these times, not only do people have nothing to eat, but the beasts in the mountains also have nothing to eat. Beasts can eat people when hungry, but what can people eat when hungry? Sigh, life is hard. A few days ago, someone even invited me to become a bandit,” Liu San lamented worriedly.
Hearing this, both Qin Qing and Ye Li’s hearts tightened.
Life was hard, and able-bodied men in villages and stockades would inevitably have thoughts of burning, killing, and looting. People and beasts were actually not much different; people could also eat people.
If even someone as upright and resolute as Liu San became a bandit, what kind of chaos would the world fall into? The Marquis residence, with its immense wealth, would probably be the first to suffer.
Qin Qing frowned, lost in thought.
Ye Li was also lost in thought, his expression showing the same worry. But he worried about the entire Great Yan Dynasty.
“Little Marquis, we are home,” A-Niu suddenly said.
Qin Qing immediately lifted the curtain and walked out.
Hearing the news, many people had already come out of the Marquis residence. Big red lanterns, one after another, illuminated the road leading to the high walls and deep courtyards. Leading them was a white and fat middle-aged man, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha.
“Daddy’s good son, you are finally willing to come back!” the middle-aged man said with a chuckle.
He was Qin Qing’s father, the current Marquis of Tai’an, Qin Dehuai.
“Dad!” Qin Qing stood on the carriage shaft, revealing a happy smile. 996 also followed out, looking curiously at everyone.
Ye Li and A-Niu jumped off the carriage and helped Liu San unload the tiger, placing it on a cart pushed out by the Marquis residence servants. A wealthy family was indeed a wealthy family; buying a tiger was as common as buying a piglet.
Qin Dehuai reached out to hug his son down, but suddenly thought of something and shouted, “Xiao Dengzi!”
As soon as the voice fell, a thin and weak boy of eleven or twelve, curled up by the stone lion at the gate, limped to the side of the carriage. He prostrated himself, exposing his bony back for Qin Qing to step on.
Seeing this scene, Ye Li’s eyes turned cold.
“Vermilion gates reek of wine and meat, while on the road lie frozen bones.” This was the truest portrayal.
Qin Qing extended his foot but suddenly retracted it.
“My shoes.” He shook his fair, bare foot.
“Bring a pair of the softest shoes.” Qin Dehuai looked at his son’s rubbed-raw heels with heartache, then added, “And call the doctor to wait in the main room! Son, let’s not walk. Dad will carry you!”
Qin Dehuai turned around, revealing his back, thick as a bear’s.
Qin Qing lay on Qin Dehuai’s back, shaking his head with a smile: “I don’t want Daddy to carry me. Daddy will get tired. I can walk myself.”
Qin Dehuai praised his son for being filial and sensible, laughing heartily.
During this time, the crippled boy named Xiao Dengzi had actually been lying on the ground the whole time, waiting silently. He was like a prostrate dog, or a wooden stool; his only function was to be stepped on by the powerful.
This was the current state of the common people of the Great Yan Dynasty. How miserable.
Ye Li wanted to suppress the anger in his heart but couldn’t. When a servant handed over soft shoes, he took the initiative to take the shoes and put them on Qin Qing’s feet.
The small, jade-like foot was completely wrapped in his large palm, dazzlingly white and tender enough to drip water. Ye Li’s heart swayed for a moment, then turned into deeper anger.
He helped up the extremely frail boy, gently pushed him aside, and half-knelt by the carriage himself. Patting his hard knee, he said, “I will serve the Little Marquis in getting off the carriage.”
996 was stunned: “What happened? I just took a nap, how did he get tamed into a loyal dog by you? Qin Qing, you damn well still have your touch.”
Qin Qing silently glanced at Ye Li, then stepped on his knee and walked down the steps.
A light weight landed on the knee, like a pure white cloud, wrapped in a sweet fragrance inside, passing before the eyes like a startled swan.
Ye Li’s eyes flickered, then he stood up straight. “From now on, I will serve the Little Marquis in getting off the carriage,” he said, pretending to be attentive.
Qin Qing picked up 996 and asked playfully, “Do you know what you are doing?”
“The Little Marquis was kind enough to bring me back, so naturally, I must serve the Little Marquis with all my heart,” Ye Li answered very respectfully.
A-Niu pulled the frail, disabled boy behind him, suppressing a lot of anger in his heart.
Although he was the Fourth Prince’s guard, he had never been treated so harshly. The Fourth Prince could handle everything, big or small, by himself and never needed such service. He managed his servants strictly but was also lenient and measured.
Wasn’t the Fourth Prince’s status more noble than Qin Qing’s? Yet he could treat people with courtesy, while Qin Qing treated others like pigs and dogs.
The heartless rich Qin family should have been raided long ago! A-Niu thought indignantly.
Qin Qing was still sizing up Ye Li, his gaze becoming increasingly subtle. After looking for an unknown amount of time, he shook his head and slowly walked towards the inner gate. After a few steps, he looked back at Ye Li, his slightly flickering eyes seeming to hide endless mockery.
Qin Dehuai led a mighty group of people, surrounding Qin Qing as they left together.
“996, I originally suspected that the previous Qin Qing wasn’t the current me, but now I can be sure. We are the same person,” Qin Qing said in his heart.
996 asked curiously, “How are you sure?”
“Because of Xiao Dengzi. Making him be my footstool is definitely something I would do.”
996 shook its head frantically: “No, no, no, you are not that kind of person! You are the best.”
Qin Qing smiled gently and sighed, “996, why are you as silly as Li Suyue?”
“Who is silly? You are the silly one! You are the number one biggest fool under heaven, otherwise how would you have ended up in this state today!”
One person and one cat bickered as they went further away.
Ye Li felt uncomfortable all over from Qin Qing’s last look, standing blankly in the sultry and dry evening breeze.
A servant waiting on the side said, “The Little Marquis has prepared a wing room for you two. I’ll take you to see it.”
“Okay, thank you, brother.” Ye Li cupped his hands, smiling very kindly.
The servant, however, rolled his eyes at him with considerable disdain.
A-Niu cursed secretly in his heart: Damn dog relying on its master’s power! Indeed, no one in the Qin family is a good thing!
The two followed the servant towards the side door. Ye Li had just taken a step when his hem was pulled by the boy named Xiao Dengzi.
Ye Li looked back, not yet understanding what had happened, when Xiao Dengzi fell to his knees with a thud. His thin arms hugged Ye Li’s legs, crying and begging: “Big brother, please don’t steal my job. My father died of illness three years ago, and my mother has heatstroke, lying at home suffering. I really need this job to support my family! Big brother, I beg you to give me a way to live, okay? I’ll kowtow to you!”
Xiao Dengzi let go of Ye Li, retreated on his knees, and banged his head on the ground repeatedly. His face was covered in tears and mucus, looking so pitiful.
Ye Li and A-Niu were confused.
The servant said grumpily: “This child was born into a farming and reading family. His father was the only scholar within a hundred miles and taught him very well since childhood. He refused to lose his father’s face by begging on the street, only wishing to find an upright job in our Marquis residence. Seeing that he was born disabled and had difficulty walking, the Little Marquis told him to stay by the side door every day, lying down to be a footstool. The Little Marquis is light and doesn’t hurt him when stepping on him, and every time there’s a tip of a few copper coins. He also doesn’t need to run around back and forth, wasting this frail body for nothing. Relying on these tips and the monthly money given by the Marquis residence, he can buy medicine for his mother and also feed his younger brothers and sisters.”
The servant shook his head and sighed: “The Little Marquis didn’t speak just now, which means he agreed to let you replace Xiao Dengzi. You are not leaving a way for Xiao Dengzi’s family of five to live! You are so strong and sturdy, do you lack those few copper coins?”
The servant rolled his eyes at Ye Li again, took out three copper coins from his bosom, and handed them to Xiao Dengzi.
Xiao Dengzi resolutely refused to accept, saying he wouldn’t accept a reward without merit, and just kept kowtowing, begging Ye Li to leave him a mouthful of rice to eat.
Ye Li: “…”
Only then did Ye Li understand why Qin Qing had looked at him with such mockery before. It turned out that in Qin Qing’s eyes, he was such a ridiculous clown.
He thought he was helping the poor and needy, harboring righteousness, but what was the difference between him and Qi Siyu who did bad things with good intentions? With a few words, he cut off the livelihood of five people, just because of so-called “momentary benevolence.”
Qin Qing probably… looked down on him even more.