Chapter 55: The Promise (Part Three)

In Zheng Yanqing's view, the withdrawal of Husky and his companions was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

Whether for Husky, Duoduo, or Zheng Yanqing himself, the departure of the White-robed Maitreya faction from Luoyang had only benefits and no drawbacks at all.

Over the next few days, his mood suddenly became much more relaxed.

Every day, he studied his craft at the Changsun family household, then chatted and idly conversed with the brother and sister Wuji and Wugou. Upon returning home, there was young Xiao Nian to wait on him, and Pei Cuiyun would occasionally pay a visit to the estate. His little life was passing quite comfortably.

Pei Xingyan had been betrothed!

Yet he was not happy about it.

In his opinion, this betrothal only solidified his status as Xie Yingdeng's future brother-in-law, leaving him listless and without much enthusiasm. Xie Yingdeng's younger sister was named Xie Xiuning, just thirteen years old and two years younger than Pei Xingyan.

Zheng Yanqing had seen a portrait of Xie Xiuning, rumored to be the brushwork of a contemporary master.

The Xie Xiuning in the painting was very dignified and delicate. She appeared slender, gentle, and virtuous—truly a young lady of a noble family. After seeing the portrait, Pei Xingyan's mood seemed to improve somewhat, at least no longer as gloomy as before.

Let no one speak of valuing character above appearance alone.

Men mostly shared a common flaw. If a girl was not born beautiful, making them enthusiastic was a very difficult task.

Because of this, Zheng Yanqing had privately teased Pei Xingyan about it, though Pei Xingyan did not mind.

On this day, the weather changed abruptly.

After more than a dozen consecutive days of brilliant sunshine, the sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds. A wind sprang up, blowing fiercely enough to knock down the grand ceremonial banner in front of the Zheng residence and even damage a surrounding wall.

Yet everyone was still quite happy.

Because this overcast sky meant that a violent rainstorm was about to arrive. Surely, after a heavy downpour, the scorching heat would cool down. If the high temperatures continued like this, it would be a form of torture for everyone.

Yanqing sat on the porch outside the study, savoring a cool, refreshing bowl of sour plum soup.

Xiao Nian was tidying up inside the room, while two mastiff pups lay crouched at the doorway, half-squinting their eyes. Nearly a year had passed, and the two mastiff pups had grown considerably in size, with sharp teeth and claws, making them extremely fierce. Most of the time, they followed Yanqing and appeared very gentle. But if anyone tried to provoke them, they would bare a row of sharp teeth and emit a low growl.

Two days ago, Pei Xingyan had brought over an adult fighting dog.

For some reason, it provoked Four-Eyes and Slender-Waist, and in the blink of an eye, it was torn into two pieces by the two mastiff pups, presenting a utterly miserable sight.

This had left Pei Xingyan heartbroken, and no matter how Zheng Yanqing tried to comfort him, it was of no use.

Not until Zheng Yanqing promised to give him one of the mastiff's future offspring did Pei Xingyan finally feel satisfied and break into a smile through his tears.

"Young master, how is it that I haven't seen Brother Shen all day?"

Xiao Nian suddenly asked a question.

Usually at this time, Shen Guang would definitely be staying with Zheng Yanqing. Yet today, for some reason, he had gone out early in the morning without accompanying Zheng Yanqing to the Thunderbolt Hall, and even now, he was nowhere to be seen.

Yanqing smiled. "Old Shen is a grown man with his own legs, who can keep him tied down?"

Mao XiaoNian said, "That may be so, but he should at least give a word... Just now Dang Shijie was looking for him, and this maid was afraid of delaying matters."

"Old Dang? He's probably just looking for him to share some wine, nothing major."

Zheng Yanqing remained unconcerned and took a sip of the sour plum soup.

Of course he knew what Shen Guang was up to. During this period, Shen Guang had used his friends from all walks of life in Luoyang to track down Li Dewu's whereabouts thoroughly. Ever since Li Dewu lost face by the Luo River, not only did he fail to lie low, but he grew even more vicious. He spread all sorts of malicious gossip about Pei Shuying in the streets, painting her in his words almost as an indiscriminate harlot. In the process, Zheng Yanqing was also implicated.

For some reason, the Pei family had not reacted at all.

Pei Shiju had hurried to Chang'an a month ago to welcome Emperor Yang's imperial carriage. As for Pei Shuying, she had not stepped forward to clarify the facts either.

Pei Shuying's silence, however, did not mean that Zheng Yanqing could endure such slander.

True, he held a somewhat forbidden affection for his aunt, but he had buried it deep within his heart. Li Dewu was a scoundrel himself yet sought to blame others. Yanqing had already harbored murderous intent toward him, and now it was even less likely that he would let Li Dewu off.

Rumble, thunder roared.

After holding back for more than an hour, the torrential rain finally poured down.

Silver snakes danced among the heavy dark clouds, their harsh, bright light tearing across the firmament as if trying to rip the canopy of heaven into pieces.

The endless curtain of rain reminded Zheng Yanqing of the bloody battle at White Sparrow Temple that day.

Had not that bloody battle also begun with just such a heavy rain?

For some reason, a sudden flutter stirred in Yanqing's heart, bringing with it an ominous premonition. Yet he could not figure out where the problem lay. He figured it was just some unpleasant memories triggered by the scene before him.

Therefore, Zheng Yanqing did not dwell on it.

"Yanqing!"

Xu Shiji ran into the study, drenched like a drowned chicken.

Taking a towel, he dried his wet hair, then took a small booklet from his leather book satchel and handed it to Zheng Yanqing.

"I just came back from Xu Yansheng's place...

Since you want to stop paying attention to the Dading Restaurant, I'm also preparing to have Xu Yansheng return. By the way, didn't you say last time that Uncle Mao Wang and his wife staying at the Bamboo Garden wasn't safe? Why not just send Xu Yansheng over there... What do you think?"

Xu Yansheng was a servant of the Xu family, in his thirties.

When Zheng Yanqing had first asked Xu Shiji to keep an eye on the Dading Restaurant, Xu Shiji had written to instruct Xu Gai to send someone he could trust.

From this, it was clear that Xu Shiji was a very cautious person.

He could not use people from the Zheng family, nor could he show his face personally, as he might be recognized. Therefore, he invited someone from his hometown in Lihu, masquerading as a merchant, to live near the Dading Restaurant to easily monitor its movements.

However, since Duoduo was the saintess of the White-robed Maitreya, Zheng Yanqing found it inappropriate to continue the surveillance.

He had asked Xu Shiji to withdraw Xu Yansheng and make other arrangements.

"Old Xu has also worked hard lately... If he's willing, I certainly have no problem with it. Just let him look after the Bamboo Garden."

As he spoke, Yanqing picked up the booklet and flipped through it a few times.

It recorded the daily comings and goings through the side gate of the Dading Restaurant... From the very first day Xu Yansheng began his surveillance up until yesterday—nearly eighty days in total—the details were extremely thorough, along with various pieces of information Xu Yansheng had gathered from others.

"The Dading Restaurant even has a Second Master?"

"Indeed!"

When Zheng Yanqing saw the name Hu Ludie, he felt a bit strange.

He had never heard Duoduo mention such a Second Master. This was the first time he had ever heard of him.

Still, he did not pay it much mind, merely glancing through it casually before placing it on the desk. He and Xu Shiji set up a game of Go in the room and began to play. Before long, however, Shen Guang returned. He too was drenched through, his whole body soaked.

"Young master, it's settled!"

Zheng Yanqing picked up a Go stone. "Did you run into any trouble?"

"Heh, what trouble could there be?"

Shen Guang said, "Everything went smoothly... I packed him into a crate and loaded him onto a cargo boat. I reckon he'll leave Luoyang by dawn tomorrow, and once the boat enters the river, someone will naturally dispose of the crate. Young master, rest assured, there won't be any problems."

"What are you two talking about?"

Xu Shiji scratched his head and asked doubtfully.

Zheng Yanqing smiled calmly. "Nothing much, just taking out some trash."

"Oh!"

Although Xu Shiji was not from a noble clan, he was still knowledgeable. He immediately understood that Zheng Yanqing must have had Shen Guang deal with someone. Matters like this were best understood in one's heart, and he would not press for details. Killed was killed; it was no big deal. Given Yanqing's temperament, if he hadn't been driven to extremes, Yanqing would never have resorted to such ruthless means.

Mao Xiaonian brought over a set of dry clothes for Shen Guang to change into in the room.

"By the way, when I came back just now, I saw a lot of people gathered at the Tongyuan Market Pier, no idea what they were up to."

"The Tongyuan Market Pier?"

"Yes, many people, probably three or four hundred of them."

"Oh, they're probably gathering to gamble... Those foreign merchants at Tongyuan Market love doing that sort of thing. I heard that a few days ago, those fellows gathered over a hundred people just to place bets on cockfighting. This time, it's likely something similar."

Xu Shiji was unfazed, and Zheng Yanqing did not take it to heart either.

After the hour of the Dog, Xu Shiji and Shen Guang both retired to rest, and Zheng Yanqing also told Mao Xiaonian to go rest. Sitting alone on the porch, watching the rain gradually subside, he took a sip of tea and prepared to return to his room to sleep. Just as he stood up to go inside, Four-Eyes and Slender-Waist suddenly stood up, their fur bristling all over, and emitted a low growl.

Yanqing was startled and immediately turned around.

"Who is it?"

"Little Scholar, it's me!"

A familiar voice rang out as Duoduo, draped in a black waterproof cloak, leaped down from over the courtyard wall.

Yanqing quickly stopped Four-Eyes and Slender-Waist, who were poised to strike, stepped forward to meet her, and said softly, "Duoduo, why have you come?"

This girl seemed to have developed an addiction to climbing walls!

The last time she was discovered by Shen Guang, and now it was happening again.

Her hair was damp, and Duoduo's hands felt rather cold. Zheng Yanqing quickly pulled her into the room, fetched a dry cloth, and tenderly dried her hair while complaining, "In such heavy rain, why did you run over here?"

Duoduo said, "Little Scholar, I'm leaving."

Zheng Yanqing was stunned, then immediately understood what Duoduo meant.

A pang of reluctance rose in his heart, and he asked softly, "When are you leaving?"

"At the break of dawn."

As she spoke, Duoduo retrieved a stack of land deeds from her bosom and thrust them into Zheng Yanqing's hands. She said softly, "Originally, I wanted Grandpa Husky to sign over the Dading Restaurant to you. But Grandpa Husky said the Dading Restaurant is too conspicuous, and taking ownership of it might bring no good. However, over the years, Grandpa Husky has bought quite a bit of land around Luoyang in my mother's name. I figured that if you want to develop your foundation here in the future, it might be inconvenient without property of your own, so I've transferred them to your name."

"Ah?"

Zheng Yanqing was taken aback and instinctively wanted to refuse.

Yet seeing Duoduo's expectant gaze, he hadn't the heart to do so. After thinking for a moment, he tucked the land deeds into his robes.

"Then I'll keep them here for now. Once the political situation stabilizes, you can come back.

They're still yours anyway; I'll just look after them for you... By the way, when will you be able to return?"

"Grandpa Husky said we'll first return to Xiangyang, then sort out the properties there, sever ties with the White-robed Maitreya, and settle down in Sichuan. After staying in Sichuan for a year or two, we'll return... By then, we won't have to worry about being exposed."

Husky's foresight was indeed meticulous.

Yanqing said, "That's for the best, stabilize things first. Once I have some free time here, I'll go to Sichuan to visit you."

"Really?"

"A gentleman's word is hard to take back even with a team of four horses!"

A brilliant smile bloomed on Duoduo's face.

She suddenly threw her arms around Zheng Yanqing's waist, buried her lovely head in his chest, and said in an extremely faint voice, "Then you must promise to come see me early."

A wave of deep affection welled up in his heart, and Zheng Yanqing tightly embraced Duoduo.

"Rest assured, I will definitely come to see you."