"She must know more than just that," Zhu Changle tossed a salted bean at Dingding's head, winking as she said, "You have to allow others to have their own sources of information. Your Beggar's Sect has its own ways of gathering intel, and you don't see me asking you about it."
Dingding shrugged and stopped asking. That was just how Zhu Changle was - things that others found complex, she simplified to a single straight line.
"Dingding, Dingding."
Hearing this familiar call, Dingding reflexively jumped up and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What do you want? Just say it."
Qiuli raised his fan higher to cover his face.
"I'm not trying to trick you..."
"So you admit you often do trick me."
Zhu Changle stood up with her hands on her hips. "Do you want to hear it or not?"
With four people in the room, if a fight broke out, he'd be outnumbered three to one. Dingding wisely backed down. "Go on, tell me."
"I just want you to use your connections in the Beggar's Sect. Those people are the real insiders. When it comes to gathering information, who could be more efficient than them?"
"There might not even be any Beggar's Sect disciples here."
Zhu Changle glared at him. "How could there not be? Every place has beggars."
"Don't act like you don't know that not all beggars are Beggar's Sect disciples."
"Can't you be more ambitious and turn them into Beggar's Sect disciples?" Zhu Changle's voice grew even louder, her tone righteous. "If you could develop a county with no Beggar's Sect presence into a branch of the sect, wouldn't that prove your capability?"
"Who would want such a backwater place... Alright, alright, I want it, okay?" Seeing Lan Ping rise to block the doorway, Dingding quickly changed his tune. His eyes nearly rolled to the heavens. The phrase 'aiding the wicked' was something he had experienced deeply since childhood; no one understood it better than him.
Tossing a salted bean into his mouth to chew on, Dingding seriously considered the possibility. "You trust your big brother so much, so I'll believe it too. Let's say Yunbei really can be developed. Didn't you also rope in another sect? If you can persuade Ban Lian, it's pretty much settled. Can such a small place handle two sects?"
"That depends on how Yunbei develops in the end. Besides, big brother says this place is vast. You should believe that he never acts unless it's worth it, and when he does, it's always impressive," Zhu Changle grinned. "Your brother doesn't bother with small matters; he only does big things."
Pleased by the words 'your brother', Dingding thought even more seriously. "If that's the case, it might not be a bad idea. Having just one Beggar's Sect branch here won't cause much trouble. Since it's our own people, we might even be able to work together on something. I'll need some manpower. Lan Ping, I'll write a letter later, and you can help me send it out. Tell them to hurry; I want to set up the branch before the Dragon-Breaking Sect arrives."
Lan Ping, leaning against the door with her arms crossed, nodded in agreement.
"Que Long's group won't be that quick. They have so many people to move, and Ban Lian will need some time to understand the situation better," Zhu Changle mused. "Dingding, you're right. I need to persuade her more. We can't let anything unexpected happen."
"Given Yunbei's current situation, she'd probably want to run as far away as possible," Dingding tossed another salted bean into his mouth, but quickly spat it out with his brows furrowed so tightly they could have squashed a mosquito. It was so bitter!
"Serves you right!" Zhu Changle's face was full of schadenfreude, but then remembering she needed a favor, her laughter quieted down a bit.
Qiuli rested his head on his hand, drinking cup after cup. Watching them settle the matter in just a few exchanges, he opened a new bottle of wine and filled their cups. This wasn't a small matter, yet they treated it as such and decided on it so easily. Such friends were rare.
He didn't have any.
Qiuli drank another cup. This wine was indeed good.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Lan Ping, who was leaning against the door, listened for a moment and quickly pulled it open, saying, "It's your big brother."
Zhu Changle rushed out like the wind. Seeing Xu Zheng running out, she knew without asking that he was going to fetch a doctor. She called out loudly, "Carry him on your back, it'll be faster."
"Yes."
Zuo Qing was wringing out a cloth to place on his master's forehead. Seeing the Fourth Miss about to bow, Zhu Changle waved it off. "Is the fever severe?"
"Yes, it came on suddenly."
"Have you and Xu Zheng been watching over him the whole time?"
"Yes."
Which meant they hadn't delayed. Zhu Changle sat on the edge of the bed and held her brother's hand, feeling his pulse. She didn't know much about medicine, but she could tell the heartbeat was too fast. Right, there was someone who knew a little. She turned back and looked expectantly at Qiuli, who had followed her in.
Qiuli came over and felt the pulse for a moment. "His constitution is too weak, and the symptoms are too complex. I can't be sure."
Zhu Changle's mouth turned down, but she knew that an honest answer was better than a false one. Her brother's body couldn't risk even the slightest danger.
Looking at her unconscious brother, her heart was in her throat. She carefully sent some qi into him, but at this moment, her brother's body was like a sieve - whatever went in came right back out, unable to be retained. Zhu Changle bit her lip, wanting to cry. She hadn't seen her brother ill in the past two years; her ability to cope had weakened.
"How is he?" Zhu Maonian and Lady Zhang came in, wearing their robes. They weren't panicked; they had grown used to this since their eldest son's birth.
Zhu Changle blinked away the moisture in her eyes and looked up with a smile. "It's the same as before. He falls unconscious as soon as he gets a fever."
Zhu Maonian nodded and spoke to his second son who had just entered, "Chang'an is also ill. Go back and take care of him. Don't catch the illness here and make Chang'an's condition more complicated."
"Yes." Zhu Changning agreed but still walked in, standing by the bed to check on his elder brother's condition. Seeing that it was indeed the same as in previous years, his heart settled a bit. They weren't afraid of their brother being ill; they were afraid of him being ill in a way that was different from before.
"Right, find the prescription," Zhu Changle looked towards her mother. "Mom, did we bring all the medicinal herbs?"
"We did, especially all the ones Changwang might need."
"After the doctor checks him, show him the prescription. If big brother's condition hasn't changed, we'll use the previous prescription. The old monk said we shouldn't change the prescription easily."
Lady Zhang, who had just sat down, immediately stood up. "Alright, alright. I'll go find all the herbs."
Zhu Changle sat anxiously biting her fingernails. She should have learned more from the old monk. Even if she just knew how to prepare the herbs, she could start brewing the medicine now instead of just waiting helplessly.
A hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up at her second brother.
"Big brother will be fine."
Zhu Changle managed a weak smile and nodded vigorously. "Yes, big brother is just tired. He'll definitely be okay."
This was the extent of comfort Zhu Changning could offer his youngest sister, but it was enough to surprise Dingding. His dislike for Zhu Changning lessened a bit. As long as that Madam Xu wasn't around, this person wasn't so detestable after all!
Just as Changle had said, an unvirtuous wife brings chaos to the household. If Zhu Changning could always be this clear-headed in the future, he might even call him "Second Brother."
