Chapter 21: Home-style Tofu (Part 21)
This sigh came simultaneously from Jing Yi and Leng Yue. Though neither voice was particularly loud, their perfectly synchronized exhalation startled Master Jing into a momentary daze.
"How... was she still alive when you dug her out?"
Leng Yue glanced at the equally bewildered father-son pair, both holding ritual offerings, and sighed in resignation. "Father, neither of us dug her up... I never even knew this person existed until yesterday when she suddenly showed up at our house demanding to see us. Uncle Qi asked who she was but she refused to say. It was Jing Yi who managed to bluff and deduce her identity."
Jing Yi raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth unconsciously quirking upward.
This was the closest thing to praise he had ever heard from Leng Yue.
And he felt entirely deserving of this particular compliment.
Because Qin Hehuan's identity hadn't been extracted by some handsome servant from her maid - he had deduced it purely from Uncle Qi's statement about "discussing the matter of the child in her womb."
The name "Hehuan" wasn't something Jing Yi had guessed out of thin air. He had overheard the Princess mention it casually during idle chatter at Prince Yu's residence. The Princess had only said it once, and the moment the words left her mouth, Prince Yu's face had turned as long and green as a cucumber. The Princess had then seamlessly replaced "Hehuan" with "the third household's daughter."
If his own father's temperament could be compared to a fox, then Prince Yu's temperament could be compared to grapes.
Or apples.
Or perhaps radishes, cabbage, potatoes...
Basically, as long as he had enough food and drink, he would never provoke anyone. Even without enough, he still wouldn't cause trouble.
The only thing that could make Prince Yu's plump, fair face instantly transform into a cucumber was the Qin Qian family. As for why, it seemed to be something that happened many years ago - even Jing Yi didn't know the details.
Therefore, Xiao Yunde's wife was undoubtedly a young lady from the Qin family named Hehuan.
And the pregnant woman who had reason to seek them out, dared to specifically request to see both him and his wife, yet didn't dare reveal her identity - the most likely candidate was undoubtedly this Qin Hehuan.
Of course, speculation was just speculation, and possibility was just possibility.
So Jing Yi had instructed Leng Yue to remain perfectly calm and bluff her without hesitation.
What pleased Jing Yi most was that Leng Yue ultimately hadn't used something like fire pellets to "bluff" her.
Being vaguely praised by his wife in front of their ancestors made Jing Yi feel somewhat giddy. After all, to his knowledge, he was the first man in the Jing family to receive such an honor.
Jing Yi looked somewhat smugly at his father, only to find that his own dear father had narrowed his deep, fox-like eyes into two slits. His originally leisurely and kindly voice now carried a hint of something unsettling. "So... she came out on her own?"
"..."
Jing Yi felt a vein throb on his forehead. He restrained himself, but ultimately couldn't hold back. "Father... didn't you promise in front of our ancestors last time that you'd never eat, drink, or play mahjong with those Imperial Astronomers again?"Master Jing calmly brought another White Bean Roll to his mouth and took a composed bite. "Last time, you also swore before our ancestors that you'd never skip work again. Hehe..."
Skip work...
Leng Yue suddenly remembered—shouldn't Jing Yi be buried in work at the Dali Temple right now?
Leng Yue shot a glare over, but Jing Yi just as nonchalantly stuffed a piece of Red Bean Cake into his mouth. "Well, Father, what exactly happened to Qin Hehuan's death? Tell us, it's a matter of life and death. Hehe..."
"If it's a matter for the heavens, ask the heavens. Hehe..."
"Before our family ancestors, just say what you want. Hehe..."
Master Jing leisurely finished the last White Bean Roll on the plate, lifted the altar cloth hanging to the floor, slid the empty plate underneath the offering table, brushed the crumbs from his hands, and reverently smoothed the cloth back into place. Only then did he lift his gaze—with the particular kindness of an elder—first to Leng Yue, then to his own son. "Do your words still carry weight now? Hehe..."
Jing Yi obediently turned a "you're in charge" expression toward Leng Yue. "Hehe..."
Whether Qin Hehuan was alive or dead was clearly important. What Master Jing wanted was clearly difficult to guess. And trying to find out through other means would obviously be more time-consuming and troublesome.
Leng Yue steeled herself. "Father, just say it. Whatever we have, we won't hide it from you."
"Actually, I don't want anything from you. I just want to see... Hehe..."
"Please tell us."
"My grandson. Hehe..."
His grandson...
Everyone in the capital knew Master Jing had four extraordinary sons, but he still hadn't held a single grandson.
Master Jing meant...
Jing Yi looked at Leng Yue, Leng Yue looked at Master Jing, and both their mouths hung open wide enough to fit any offering on the altar.
For a moment, Leng Yue almost envied the empty plate hiding under the table.
Master Jing continued gazing at her with gentle kindness. "This... can't be arranged?"
Words spoken were like water spilled—especially water spilled before the memorial tablets of the Jing family ancestors. Gritting her teeth, Leng Yue forced out, "...It can."
Master Jing stroked his beard and nodded with deep satisfaction.
Jing Yi was bewildered.
He hadn't been this confused when his father mentioned wanting to see a grandson, but seeing Master Jing nod left him utterly stunned.
Master Jing's nod meant there wasn't a hint of insincerity in Leng Yue's "can."
Which meant...
"About Qin Hehuan's matter..." Master Jing didn't give his own son time to fully process his confusion before speaking calmly. "Qin Qian himself mentioned it half a year ago when he drank too much at a banquet. He didn't say how she died, only that she was gone—suddenly and tragically."
"And then?"
"Nothing more. Hehe..."
"..."
If Master Jing believed Qin Hehuan was dead, it meant not a single word of Qin Qian's story was fabricated.
But if Qin Qian hadn't lied, then where did the woman they'd just seen come from?
After handling so many cases, they'd never encountered anything this bizarre—someone already dead causing trouble in the streets, while the lively and active had long been thoroughly deceased.She couldn't very well go tell Prince An that this case didn't fall under An Manor's jurisdiction and should be handed over to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for investigation...
While Leng Yue was still mentally scratching at the dilemma like a cat clawing at a post, Jing Yi had already set down the plate of Red Bean Cake he'd been holding, nimbly risen from the floor, pulled Leng Yue up along with him, and casually wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Father, enjoy your meal... While it's still early, we'll go make you a grandson."
"Go on, go on, hehe..."
Even after exiting the main gate of the Jing residence, Leng Yue's face remained flushed crimson. Jing Yi kept his arm around her waist for two whole blocks, and her face still burned bright red.
When Jing Yi guided her into a secluded alley, even Leng Yue's neck had turned scarlet.
Jing Yi placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned down, and planted a deep kiss on her slightly pursed lips. Leng Yue didn't evade or flinch, only the redness on her face deepened, her breath growing slightly uneven.
Hearing her sincerely say that "can" had already made him feel he could die without regrets.
"Xiao Yue, if you're not rushing off to handle other matters, let's attend to some serious business. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest easy..."
Leng Yue bowed her slender neck, eyelashes lowered, lips that still carried Jing Yi's warmth pressed together as she softly responded, "Mmm..."
"Although I don't know the details of Zhang Chong's death, I roughly understand how Zhang Chong could harm Qin Hehuan after dying, and how Qin Hehuan could return from death."
"...Mmm?"
Leng Yue jolted violently, suddenly looking up to find Jing Yi gazing directly at her.
He was watching her with the expectant look of a cat presenting a dead mouse to its owner, waiting for a reward.
His "serious business"...
Leng Yue suddenly felt the urge to poke several holes in him with her sword.
Sword.
It abruptly occurred to her that before entering the Jing family ancestral hall, she'd handed her unsheathed sword to a Jing family servant. In her distracted state when leaving...
She'd completely forgotten about it.
Considering Old Master Jing's expression earlier, and recalling her own demeanor when entering and leaving the Jing residence, Leng Yue had absolutely no desire to go back for the sword.
She felt she might never have the face to enter the Jing residence again in this lifetime...
Watching Leng Yue's complexion shift from red to dark, Jing Yi proactively retreated several steps, raised both hands to clasp behind his head, bowed his head, and obediently squatted in the corner of the wall.
"Madam, earlier the Old Master made the same mistake we've been making all along, and you just repeated it... With your intelligence, you must have realized it by now."
Leng Yue tried her best to compose herself, but unfortunately, to no avail.
"I realize your uncle!"
Jing Yi remained obediently squatting, not moving a muscle. "Madam, you're already part of the Jing family. My uncle is your uncle too, so you should say our uncle."
I realize our uncle...
Leng Yue inexplicably repeated the phrase silently in her mind, and after doing so, all desire to curse vanished completely.
Leng Yue straightened her expression. "You... explain clearly. Our uncle, no... I, how was I wrong?"
"When I said 'attend to serious business,' I meant resolving this case. But because I told the Old Master we'd 'make a grandson,' you assumed..."
"...Jing Yi!"
"Our uncle our uncle our uncle..."
"......"Leng Yue properly regulated her breathing for a while, watching Jing Yi who was still obediently squatting in the corner, before gritting her teeth and saying, "Continue."
"Yes, Madam... The mistake you just made was exactly like this, and the Old Master made the same error earlier. When I told him to go get a grandson, I actually meant to apprehend the culprit grandson. But because you had just promised to show him his grandson earlier, he thought we were going to..."
"...I understand now!"
"I knew it, Madam. With your exceptional intelligence, you'd grasp it immediately..."
"..."
Leng Yue's mind was in disarray, so much so that she felt like killing the person who had tangled her thoughts.
Jing Yi clearly heard Leng Yue's fingers crack with several sharp snaps.
"Well... such a trivial matter isn't worth troubling Madam over. Let me continue... When Qin Qian mentioned Qin Hehuan, he only said she was gone, departed, never once using the word 'dead.' But officials never use such direct terms when speaking among themselves, especially when Qin Qian was talking about his own daughter. So when they heard words like 'gone' and 'departed,' they naturally assumed Qin Hehuan had died. If Qin Hehuan had become pregnant secretly after an affair with Xiao Yunde and was discovered by the Qin family and expelled, then Qin Qian's 'gone' and 'departed' wouldn't mean death."
Leng Yue froze for a moment, then suddenly understood.
Right.
In that case, the unusual fear Qin Hehuan showed after her identity was exposed in the mansion, and her refusal to reveal her family name to the neighbors, could also be explained.
"Similarly... Zhang Chong had clearly been dead for many days, yet Qin Hehuan said Zhang Chong harmed her. She wasn't lying either. It's just that when we heard her say Zhang Chong did it, we assumed she meant Zhang Chong was the one who hit her. But perhaps... Zhang Chong wasn't the one who physically struck her. Maybe Zhang Chong did something, or she thought Zhang Chong did something, that led to her being beaten?"
Leng Yue furrowed her brows. "But since she's already said that much, why not just say outright who hit her?"
Jing Yi hesitated slightly, his voice lowering. "Perhaps... she feels the person who beat her did nothing wrong at all."
"Is she out of her mind? Someone hits her and she still thinks..."
Before Leng Yue could finish, her gaze fixed on Jing Yi, who was obediently squatting in the corner with his hands over his head. She stared blankly for a moment.
Right. There indeed exist such people in this world—for certain specific individuals, they willingly endure beatings and scoldings and even find satisfaction in it.
"You mean... Xiao Yunde?"
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