Chapter 92 - 2#
World 4: You Are the Snow on the Branch#
The four words “cut-sleeve and shared-peach” were taboo for both the Li family and the Qin family.
Li Suye’s fist made an extremely piercing cracking sound. If he could, he really wanted to kill the person in front of him.
But he chose a path of no return, which destined him to endure, even to sever ties.
“Little Marquis, I have a few words I want to say to you alone, consider it a farewell.” Li Suye used extraordinary willpower to suppress the jealousy that was almost corroding his heart.
Qin Qing glanced at Jiang Feishi.
Jiang Feishi surprisingly didn’t obstruct, lifted the carriage curtain, and jumped down.
The shrinking 996 then crawled out from under the low table and let out a long breath.
“You’re leaving?” Qin Qing sat in the carriage and asked with a pale face.
“Little Marquis, are you really together with that Jiang Feishi?” Li Suye asked, suppressing the anger in his heart.
“Do you know why I insisted on bringing you back to the Marquis’s residence back then?” Qin Qing spoke on his own.
By now, the rhythm of the conversation was completely controlled by Qin Qing. Even if Li Suye had monstrous anger, he had to pause.
“Why?”
“Because I like you.” Qin Qing raised his eyes and looked straight into Li Suye’s eyes.
The monstrous anger suddenly extinguished, and drops of rain fell gently on the hot ashes.
Li Suye’s eyes reddened unknowingly.
“But I know you don’t like me.” Qin Qing blinked his misty eyes.
Wisps of sadness filled these eyes.
The hot ashes were swept by the turbulent water flow, turning into a muddy wave. Li Suye’s heart rolled in this muddy wave, crashing into a dense pain.
“I—”
He opened his dry lips, wanting to say I like you, but was interrupted by Qin Qing.
“At that time, I secretly swore in my heart that one day, I would make you pull the corner of my robe and beg me to give you a little bit of affection.” Speaking of this, Qin Qing couldn’t help but chuckle self-mockingly.
Without Jiang Feishi pointing it out, he also understood that there was absolutely no possibility between him and Li Suye.
Li Suye suppressed his surging emotions and asked hoarsely, “Little Marquis, do you still like me now?”
As long as Qin Qing said he liked him, he would take the other person and run away regardless of everything.
Qin Qing lowered his eyelids and whispered, “Under the circumstances where even survival cannot be guaranteed, isn’t it too extravagant to say like?”
A thunderbolt exploded in his mind, shattering Li Suye’s mind. Yes, when the entire royal family was exerting force to destroy the Tai’an Marquis’s residence, what qualification did he have to say he liked Qin Qing?
Qin Qing must have guessed his intention long ago, right? Did those sinister thoughts scare him into a cold sweat several times?
Even with all kinds of liking, it would be obliterated under such calculations…
Li Suye’s eyes became sore and hot again and again, but he dared not show any regret or sadness.
It turned out he didn’t even have the qualification to take Qin Qing away.
“Little Marquis, I understand. I will continue to investigate the case of framing the Marquis’s residence.” Li Suye’s heart died completely.
He took a step back and slowly cooled his eyes.
But just then, a fair and slender hand reached out from the carriage window, fingertips holding a dough figurine.
“This thing is returned to you.” Qin Qing said.
Even the only thing he gave him had to be returned? Was he so disgusted and rejected, wishing to make a clean break? Li Suye’s heart was bleeding, but he still took the dough figurine and forced himself to curl his lips.
His gaze inadvertently swept over the face of the dough figurine, and then froze.
This dough figurine…
This dough figurine was actually molded into Li Suye’s own face, deep like a sculpture, polished and refined, delicate and vivid. If he hadn’t firmly kept his face in his heart, how could he restore it bit by bit?
Really don’t like anymore?
This is clearly liking!
The wet heat in his eyes almost turned into tears and rolled down. Li Suye’s dead heart instantly beat wildly.
He suddenly looked up at Qin Qing.
Qin Qing took the dough figurine back, and carefully turned the head to the left with his fingers.
“Your left face looks the best.” He handed the dough figurine back and said with a smile.
The sunlight fell in his eyes, but what flashed was a tearful light.
“My Ye Li will never come back, right? Then I’ll just say goodbye to Ye Li.” Qin Qing waved his hand, then retracted his head.
Jiang Feishi jumped onto the carriage at the right time and patted the coachman’s shoulder: “Back to the Marquis’s residence.”
The carriage moved slowly, leaving Li Suye standing in place holding a dough figurine. Tears also flashed in his eyes, but eventually turned into indomitable determination.
To protect Qin Qing, even if this road was an abyss or a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, he would wade through it.
Qin Qing leaned back on the soft pillow and let out a long breath.
996 asked curiously: “Do you really not like Li Suye?”
Qin Qing was stunned for a while before slowly shaking his head: “Don’t like.”
996 was relieved, “That’s good. Don’t fall in love with the Child of Destiny, you will become unfortunate.”
Qin Qing didn’t ask what the Child of Destiny was. He pretended to be sleepy and yawned, then lay on the low table, silently hiding his slightly red eyes in the crook of his arm.
Jiang Feishi lifted the curtain and walked in, didn’t disturb Qin Qing’s fake sleep, just stroked Qin Qing’s long hair lovingly.
An hour later, they arrived at the Tai’an Marquis’s residence.
Qin Qing crawled out of the carriage listlessly and rubbed his red eyes.
Jiang Feishi, standing under the carriage, extended his arms, pinched his slender waist to carry him down, and suddenly loosened his hands halfway, pretending to be unable to support him.
Qin Qing was afraid of falling, so he quickly hugged Jiang Feishi’s neck and let out a cry of surprise by Jiang Feishi’s cheek.
Jiang Feishi then hugged Qin Qing tightly and laughed in a low voice.
“Scaring you.”
Qin Qing’s pale face instantly dyed with an angry blush, and his listless appearance disappeared completely.
“Was that kiss at the government office gate your first time?” Jiang Feishi asked in a deep voice, his hands pinching Qin Qing’s slender waist very hard.
Qin Qing stared: “Won’t tell you!”
“Your father is coming out soon. Do you believe I will kiss you in front of him?” Jiang Feishi smiled and bit Qin Qing’s ear.
996 stood on the carriage shaft and gave an idea: “Say no, anger him to death!”
Qin Qing kicked his legs, wanting to get down, but Jiang Feishi lifted him high. Over Jiang Feishi’s head, Qin Qing saw Qin Dehuai running quickly.
“Yes, yes, yes. It’s the first time.” Qin Qing shouted in a low voice quickly.
“Will there be a second, third, and countless times?” Jiang Feishi raised his arms a little higher.
Qin Qing quickly agreed: “Yes, yes, yes.”
Jiang Feishi then put the person down, reached out to tidy up the Little Marquis’s slightly messy hair and robe.
Qin Qing stepped on his instep fiercely, glared at him angrily with blushing eyes, and then ran into the Marquis’s residence as if his butt was on fire.
Jiang Feishi stood at the door watching the Little Marquis’s back, the smile on the corner of his mouth slowly faded, turning into unsatisfied suppression.
At the dinner table, Qin Dehuai was busy putting food into his son’s bowl.
“That Ye Li turned out to be the Fourth Prince?” He asked with lingering fear: “We didn’t do anything bad under his nose, right?”
“Probably not.” Qin Qing fed 996 a mouthful of braised pork.
Tao Ran sneered: “Why not? You wanted to throw twenty children into the river to drown!”
Qin Dehuai’s face darkened, and he scolded: “Can you stop bringing this up? Who wanted to drown those children!”
“Humph, you high officials and nobles, when have you ever cared about the life and death of us common people.” Tao Ran stirred the rice in the bowl randomly with chopsticks.
“If I didn’t care, how could you still be alive now?” Qin Dehuai showed the majesty of a Marquis for the first time and said coldly: “In a battle, to lure the enemy deep, thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers can be sent as bait. Such casualties are merely to capture a hilltop. But such casualties can ensure that all the people of our Great Yan Kingdom do not suffer from the pain of war. The Fourth Prince started fighting in his teens; his heart is harder than anyone else’s. Standing in a higher position, his thoughts are naturally different from ours. The thing you brood over is nothing to him.”
Tao Ran poked the bowl fiercely with chopsticks but had nothing to say.
Qin Dehuai’s eyes reddened, and he sighed: “I can probably guess why the Fourth Prince came, not to mention he sneaked into the Marquis’s residence to investigate for such a long time. Tao Ran, I’ll give you ten thousand taels of silver, you leave tomorrow. The Marquis’s residence will be destroyed soon; if you leave, at least you won’t be implicated.”
Tao Ran’s hand holding the chopsticks suddenly froze.
Qin Qing glanced at her and said lightly: “Aunt Tao, do you know that those nursery rhymes were spread by Qi Sifeng’s order?”
Tao Ran’s face turned slightly pale, and she shook her head in panic. She knew, but she had to pretend not to know.
“To bring down our Marquis’s residence, Qi Sifeng released the nursery rhymes but was reluctant to release the official grain. Without official grain, have you ever thought about how many people starved to death on the roadside these days? Our Marquis’s residence has always been helping refugees and nearby people as much as possible, but Qi Sifeng, the parent official, is starving his people to death. Tell me, who is cruel and who is benevolent?”
Tao Ran was stunned. Before this, she never realized that not distributing official grain would cause such consequences. She opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.
“You are just too well-fed. If my father hadn’t brought you back, you would probably have become one of the refugees starved to death by Qi Sifeng.” Qin Qing smiled sarcastically.
Tao Ran lowered her head, her pale face instantly flushing red. She wouldn’t starve to death because she was a maid of the Qi family. She also couldn’t put herself in the perspective of the refugees to truly see those sufferings.
Shame was like an undercurrent beneath the water surface, suppressed by her, but rippling out from time to time.
Qin Qing looked at Qin Dehuai and said: “Father, you haven’t asked me how the Fourth Prince judged the case.”
“Right, right, right, how was the case judged?”
Tao Ran’s chopsticks began to stir again.
Qin Qing briefly explained the process and shook his head: “The Fourth Prince scolded Miss Qi in front of many people for fishing for fame and being hypocritical.”
“Indeed hypocritical.” Qin Dehuai shook his head.
Tao Ran’s heart became more and more fearful. She never expected that simply distributing porridge would have so many tricks. So the Marquis’s residence was right, and the Qi family was wrong?
Does Miss hate me to death now? What about Young Master? How is Young Master? I, how could I be so stupid! I should have asked the Little Marquis why he mixed stones in the rice! The Little Marquis is not a truly bad person; he must have a reason for doing so. I’m so stupid! Stupid to death!
Fortunately, Tao Ran wasn’t strong, otherwise she would have snapped the chopsticks in her hand on the spot, revealing a flaw.
“On the way there, the Fourth Prince also said that Qi Sifeng is a talent skilled in administration and wanted to promote him.” Qin Qing added.
Tao Ran held her breath, but her heart beat rapidly. She endured humiliation and stayed in the Marquis’s residence, wasn’t it to help Young Master eliminate evil? If Young Master caught the Fourth Prince’s eye…
However, Tao Ran knew clearly that since Miss was reprimanded, how could Young Master escape punishment.
Sure enough, Qin Qing said from the side: “After the case was tried, the Fourth Prince said to Qi Sifeng that a muddled official like you is more harmful to the country and the people than corrupt officials. Scared Qi Sifeng into kneeling on the spot.”
“Hahaha, the Fourth Prince scolded rightly. Then isn’t Qi Sifeng’s official career cut off?” Qin Dehuai asked with a smile.
“Probably no hope for further advancement. If the Fourth Prince intends to investigate him thoroughly, I’m afraid his head will stay in Jiangbei City.” Qin Qing shook his head.
With a clatter, Tao Ran’s chopsticks fell to the ground.