Chapter 67: Cui Qi
“Who?” Jiang Yu asked in a low voice.
“I can’t see clearly,” Shen Zhishu frowned. “It’s a little far.”
“Has she noticed us?”
“It’s hard to say…” Shen Zhishu suddenly turned her horse around. “She’s looking over here.”
“Why is the General so on edge?” Jiang Yu was puzzled. “Maybe it’s just a common person who doesn’t know us at all?”
“No, this person is at least of some background,” Shen Zhishu said in a deep voice. “Does Your Highness remember what I told you before, that a person who has been on the battlefield for a long time can sense killing intent? I can vaguely smell this person’s killing intent from so far away. She is definitely not an ordinary person.”
Jiang Yu was sitting in front of Shen Zhishu. When Shen Zhishu pulled on the reins, her wide robes and large sleeves wrapped her entire body in her arms.
She was quiet for a while and said in a faint voice, “Maybe it’s not killing intent.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s the smell of blood,” Jiang Yu paused. “That person seems to be injured.”
Shen Zhishu narrowed her eyes and looked over there carefully.
The world was a sheet of white, and the heavy snow covered the withered grass. That person was wearing a white robe, with a few streaks of blood hidden in it. But because it was far away, it was not very clear.
Shen Zhishu turned her head to the side, “Your Highness, did you smell the smell of blood?”
“Mm.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“In that case… shall we go and see?”
“Mm.”
Shen Zhishu pulled on the bridle, led another horse, and turned to go in that direction.
As they got closer, Shen Zhishu finally smelled the smell of blood as well.
It was just that the scent of cedar on the person in front of her was too strong and had covered up all the other smells, she thought.
The smell of blood in the air was clearly very strong, but she had not noticed it at all just now—
That person had been shot with several arrows, and there were several bloody holes in her chest. She was kneeling in the snow, holding on to a tree trunk to keep herself from falling.
Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu exchanged a look, got off their horses, and walked forward side by side.
“Does Your Highness know this person?” Shen Zhishu whispered to Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu shook her head, narrowed her eyes and looked for a while, then suddenly nodded.
“Hmm?” Shen Zhishu did not understand.
“I haven’t met her, but she seems to look a little like someone—I’ve seen her portrait before.”
“Who is it?”
“The top scorer of this year’s provincial examinations in the Huainan region, Cui Qi.”
“The Huainan region?” Shen Zhishu frowned. “There’s still half a year before the metropolitan examinations next year. What is someone from the Huainan region doing here near the end of the year? And why has she been shot with arrows? Forget it, saving her is the most important thing right now. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have hit any vital points.”
She rushed forward in a few steps, called out “Bear with it,” and then directly tore a piece of cloth from the corner of her clothes with a rip. She first broke the arrow shaft, and then bandaged the wound in a few moves.
That person’s face was pale from excessive blood loss, and she let Shen Zhishu do as she pleased, “Thank you, two benefactors. Are you… General Shen?”
“Don’t worry about who we are. In any case, we have no ill intentions,” Shen Zhishu sighed. “This wound needs to be treated as soon as possible. We’ll take you to the nearest clinic.”
**
After Cui Qi was settled, she told Shen Zhishu the whole story, and Shen Zhishu frowned as she listened.
According to her, her family was not wealthy. She had “fortunately” passed the provincial examinations as the top scorer and was both happy and apprehensive, planning to come to the capital early to prepare for the examinations. Many factions had tried to win her over, but she had politely declined. She had come to the woods today to hunt some wild rabbits for food, but she had been ambushed.
“Have you made any enemies in the past?” Shen Zhishu asked after hearing this.
Cui Qi’s servant replied, “My young lady is of a gentle and kind character and has never had a red face with anyone.”
Shen Zhishu sighed, “Forget it. Since you are the top scorer, it is normal to be a little conspicuous. It’s not impossible that some people want to get rid of you if they can’t get you. You should report it to the authorities first and not go out before the New Year if there’s nothing important. Have you bought a house in the capital? Or have you been staying in an inn?”
Cui Qi was a little embarrassed, “The county magistrate originally gave me a deed, but I didn’t want to owe anyone a favor, so I refused it. I plan to stay in an inn for the winter and then make other plans. I am very grateful to the General for helping me today, but I am really short of money. I will repay the General when I have earned some silver in the future.”
Shen Zhishu smiled, “You’re a little too honest. Since ancient times, there has never been a case of a top scorer coming to the capital without a place to live and even without any money in their pockets. You’ve refused this and that, so they all think you are aloof and unsociable, and even look down on them, so of course they won’t treat you well.”
Cui Qi’s breath was a little weak, but her words were very clear, “I entered the officialdom only to govern the country and bring peace to the people, not to form factions.”
“Everyone can say that,” Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow. “Everyone says that when they first become an official, they are all driven by a passion.”
“Please watch, General. I will definitely not just have a passion.”
Shen Zhishu patted her on the shoulder and started another topic, “You have never seen me before, but you recognized me at a glance. Am I so easy to recognize?”
Cui Qi was noncommittal, “The General is heroic and valiant, and as elegant as a jade tree in the wind. There is no one in the capital who does not know the General. I have been in the capital for some time and have seen many portraits of the General.”
Shen Zhishu said, “You flatter me,” and then smiled, “In that case, do you know the person beside me?”
“Her demeanor is extraordinary, she must be some lord,” Cui Qi shook her head. “But forgive my poor eyesight, I didn’t recognize her.”
Shen Zhishu changed the way she asked, “Then have you heard who I am close to?”
“I have heard that the General is on very good terms with General Xie,” Cui Qi was a little hesitant. “Could it be that that lord is General Xie? She is a little… thinner than I imagined.”
Shen Zhishu: …You’re being quite tactful.
“It’s not her,” Shen Zhishu said. “Think again.”
“I can’t think of anyone else,” Cui Qi said with a pained expression. “I really know very little about this. It’s all from what I’ve heard on the streets and alleys, I haven’t actively inquired about it.”
Shen Zhishu let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to herself that it seemed that the news of her being close to the Eldest Princess recently had not spread too widely.
Good.
She nodded with satisfaction and said with a magnanimous air, “That is Her Highness the Eldest Princess Huai’an.”
“It’s Her Highness Huai’an?!” Cui Qi’s eyes widened. “Forgive my blindness just now, I didn’t recognize you and lost my composure in front of you, Your Excellency and Your Highness. Where is Her Highness now?”
“She has already returned to her manor, saying that she has important matters to attend to. It’s alright, I’ll say hello for you later. You can rest and recuperate—”
Before her voice could fall, the door of the inn was suddenly pushed open, and along with the scent of cedar came Jiang Yu’s familiar and faint voice:
“Is the General so eager for me to leave?” She tucked her sleeves and walked in gracefully. “I just told the General that I was going for a walk on the street. How did I become ‘already returned to my manor’ in the General’s mouth?”
Cui Qi gritted her teeth and propped herself up on the bed. Just as she was about to stand up and bow, Jiang Yu gave a look, and the attendant who was guarding by her side understood and hurriedly held Cui Qi down to keep her from moving.
“There’s no need for formalities,” Jiang Yu raised her hand and called over another attendant who was holding a purse, then turned her head and said to Cui Qi in a faint voice, “I heard that your family is poor. Please accept this small gift.”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Cui Qi became excited and coughed twice. “This commoner will not accept a reward without merit!”
Jiang Yu took the purse and personally handed it to the bed, “This Princess is the current Eldest Princess and is of one mind with the Holy Majesty. I am unwilling to see the scholars of the world suffer from cold and hunger. This is not just for you. If it were someone else, I would also give these few silver pieces. There are a total of ten taels. The purpose is not to let you live in luxury, but just to make your life a little better in the cold winter. You are seriously injured now. If you don’t have any silver to get by, I’m afraid you won’t be able to make it to spring. Wouldn’t that be a loss for Nan’an?”
Shen Zhishu chimed in from the side, “Just accept it. Her Highness Huai’an is definitely not short of these ten taels of silver.”
Cui Qi’s lips trembled, and in the end, she accepted the purse as the two of them had said and thanked them several times.
Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu finally instructed her servant to take good care of her and then left, leaving Cui Qi lying on the bed, her heart full of gratitude.
General Shen and Her Highness Huai’an are truly kind people, she thought.
And she really didn’t expect the relationship between the two of them to be so good. They could joke around freely, and when one of them finished speaking, the other would immediately chime in, as if they were of one mind.
Speaking of which, General Shen was not yet married, and Her Highness Huai’an had not been heard to have a family.
In that case—wouldn’t it be a matter of time before General Shen became the Prince Consort?
Thinking of this, Cui Qi shook her head again and thought to herself, Probably not.
…Her Highness Huai’an’s constitution did not look like she could give birth to several children.
Forget it, this was not something she should worry about anyway. The most important thing now was the metropolitan examinations next year.
So Cui Qi ordered her servant to take the “Biography of Zhou Wen” from the book box.
The servant’s eyes widened, “Master, you’ve been injured today. You should rest for a day. It’s not too late to read after you’ve recuperated.”
“If I don’t study, will you take the examinations for me?” Cui Qi said with emotion. “Her Highness Huai’an and the General have been so good to me, I must not let them down!”
The Highness Huai’an and the General in Cui Qi’s mouth were on their way back to their manors.
It was really lively this morning, Shen Zhishu thought. I didn’t do much morning exercise, and instead became someone’s servant.
Jiang Yu was still sitting in front of her, her body swaying gently with the horse’s steps.
Shen Zhishu decided to take the initiative and find out what her “master” was going to do today.
So she cleared her throat and asked with a serious air, “I wonder what Your Highness is going to do today, so that this subordinate can prepare early.”
“There’s nothing major today,” Jiang Yu looked straight ahead, her voice calm. “I just want to eat chicken oil rolls, plum blossom crisps, fermented rice dumplings, glutinous rice and water chestnut cakes, steamed fish head, and ham and fresh bamboo shoot soup.”
Shen Zhishu said, “Oh my,” and smiled, “So many, can you finish them?”
“If you make a little of each, you can finish them,” Jiang Yu said in a faint voice. “I want Youshu to make them for me.”
The corners of Shen Zhishu’s mouth, which were half-curled up, suddenly retracted.
Jiang Yu turned her head and looked at Shen Zhishu’s face, “What, Youshu can’t make them?”
Shen Zhishu did not speak, and three words were written on her face: What do you think.
Jiang Yu sighed, “Alright, then I won’t eat these. I want the Tianshan snow lotus, the North Sea night pearl, the seven-colored glass buckle, and the exquisite eight-treasure box.”
Shen Zhishu: …
Jiang Yu’s voice rose at the end, “What, Youshu doesn’t have these either?”
Shen Zhishu took a deep breath and smiled with a bit of a gritted teeth, “How can this subordinate have things that even the Emperor may not have?”
Jiang Yu nodded and said, “Alright,” and changed the subject, “Then I want Youshu to sleep with me tonight, holding me.”
Shen Zhishu: ?
Jiang Yu continued, “This can’t be impossible, right? You can’t even do such a small thing, what’s the use of you? If you refuse me again this time, it will be the third time you’ve refused me. Are you deliberately disobeying me?”
Shen Zhishu: …
Thank you, but which servant’s services include warming the bed??
And she’s even turning the tables and saying that I’m disobeying her… tonight, I’m going to show her what “disobeying” means!
So much trick on her sleeve😂