The door opened and closed, and as the footsteps faded away, Zuo Qing laughed, "You're teasing the Fourth Miss again."
"I don't want her drinking during the day either. A young lady reeking of alcohol will surely invite criticism. But I enjoy seeing her happy, and when I see her cheerful, I want to indulge her in everything," Zhu Changwang said with a smile, shaking his head. His expression was unclear whether he was exasperated with himself or his little sister. "There's still someone at home to keep her in check, isn't there? I'll leave it to them."
The one who kept Changle in check couldn't help but smile when she saw her darling running towards her. She remarked to Lady Li beside her, "Look at her, she can't seem to walk without bouncing and jumping around."
Lady Li laughed, "Isn't that wonderful? Whenever I see the Fourth Miss like this, I can't help but want to jump along with her. It's just that I'm too old to jump now, otherwise I'd show you right away."
"You never miss a chance to take her side," Lady Zhang chided gently, though the smile never left her face. It wasn't just Lady Li; among all the servants in the household at that time, who didn't love Changle? Except for Madam Xu.
"Mother, I'm back!"
Lady Zhang's smiling face changed as her daughter approached. She sniffed the air and quickly grabbed a feather duster nearby, raising it threateningly. "Drinking so early in the morning, and then running about outside! Do you want all of Yunbei to laugh at you behind your back?"
"Mother, Mother, I only had a tiny bit, really! I'm going, I'm going! You must be seeing things, you didn't see me, Changle was never here, Changle is disappearing right now!" Like a gust of wind, she was gone in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the now-empty doorway, Lady Zhang was torn between anger and laughter, her face flushed red. In the end, she simply turned her back, pretending not to hear the stifled laughter of the maids and servants.
Zhu Changle pushed open her big brother's door with her head, giving her heartless brother a reproachful look.
"Big brother, you did that on purpose."
"Yes, I did," Zhu Changwang admitted readily. "Did you get hit?"
"I ran fast, she didn't catch me, hehe." Zhu Changle squeezed through the door, stretching out her hand. "Give me some money, I'm broke."
Zuo Qing handed over the banknotes that had been prepared in advance.
"Zuo Qing, you've learned bad habits."
Zuo Qing smiled and defended himself, "Please believe me, Fourth Miss, I was forced to do this."
"Yeah, right."
Zhu Changle took the banknotes, examining each one's denomination like a miser. The more she looked, the happier she became. Hey, she had money now!
"I forgive you both for the sake of this money. I'll bring you back something tasty."
The guest quarters weren't far from here, and the Fourth Miss's voice calling "Qiuli" could be heard. Zuo Qing carefully glanced at the Young Master.
Zhu Changwang was half-lying down with his eyes closed, resting. He wasn't unaware that Changle and Qiuli had grown too close, but just as he didn't want to constrain her with rules regarding her other friendships with girls, he didn't want to restrict her in this matter either. If she felt this was normal, then it wasn't worth mentioning.
The rules were in one's heart; how they manifested outwardly wasn't as important.
Now that they knew the chaotic area at the border of the two counties was controlled by Gu'an's people, they decided not to walk through there openly.
Looking at the road cut off at the foot of the mountain ahead, Zhu Changle laughed bitterly, "I was thinking earlier that although Yunbei is at a geographical disadvantage, with the official road being blocked causing difficulties, surely the two counties don't only share that one border area. We should still be able to get through by crossing mountains and ridges. Now I understand. They truly can't get out. It's so blatant, how could the officials in Gu'an not know? And how could so many previous magistrates of Yunbei not know?"
"What if someone didn't want them to know?"
This was something Zhu Changle hadn't considered. She thought for a moment, "You mean Luo Ding? Why would he hide this from the magistrate? From what I've learned about Yunbei's situation so far, I can see he has his own agenda, but that agenda isn't necessarily bad."
Qiuli looked at her, "Even if they knew, what could they do? Single-handedly change the situation? Do you think they could leave Xingzhou alive?"
Zhu Changle was stunned. The implication of not being able to leave Xingzhou alive meant...
Of course, no matter how bold Gu'an was, it was still just a county on the same level as Yunbei. They might have the heart and the guts, but not necessarily the ability to swallow Yunbei, which was wealthier than Gu'an at the time. She dared not imagine how far-reaching the involvement behind this might be.
"No, that's not right," Zhu Changle had a sudden realization. "This isn't good news. Even if someone in Xingzhou is involved or even orchestrating this, the number of people can't be large. Some things can't be kept secret if too many people know. So Gu'an is still the most important link, but above them, there's an umbrella of protection shielding them."
Qiuli nodded approvingly, "I've already sent people to investigate."
"Oh~" Zhu Changle dragged out the 'oh' with eighteen twists in her tone. "Qiuli, you'd better be careful, you're close to being exposed."
"It doesn't matter."
Huh? Zhu Changle leaned forward with her hands behind her back, peering at Qiuli's face. Didn't he say earlier that it was better not to know, that it wasn't good for her father? How come it suddenly doesn't matter now?
"I have a troublesome identity. It's better if Master Zhu doesn't know. Whatever you see or hear that shouldn't be told to Master Zhu, just don't mention it."
Zhu Changle was itching with curiosity, tugging at her hair. "Now that you've said that, I want to know even more."
Taking her hands away from her hair, Qiuli said, "Just consider it part of your training."
"!!" Zhu Changle blinked. "Qiuli, did you just make a joke? Is it too late for me to laugh now?"
Qiuli ignored her and walked straight down the mountain.
Zhu Changle really did chase after him, planting herself in front of him with her hands on her hips, throwing her head back in an exaggerated laugh. Qiuli's fingers twitched, and in the end, he couldn't resist flicking her forehead with one finger. He finally understood why Zhong Ningmei had disappeared so thoroughly in recent years. With such a live wire around every day to amuse her, even hearing about the troubles of the outside world would be annoying.
"Let's go, let's go, we're wasting time here," Zhu Changle said cheerfully as she ran ahead.
Qiuli didn't bother pointing out who was actually wasting time. He followed her, not at all surprised when she stopped in front of the deep trench not far ahead.
"Just wait, I'll make them come and fill this road back up, bit by bit."
"Mm."
Zhu Changle sneered. The other places were probably cut off in the same way. They had isolated Yunbei from the rest of Great Wan, and it was only because the people of Yunbei were so honest. With their skill on the water, it would have been understandable if they had rebelled by now.
With their eyes covered and ears plugged by outsiders, this must be one of the consequences her master spoke of – the good people in the capital failing to overcome the bad. If her father knew Yunbei was being treated like this, he definitely wouldn't stand idly by.
Zhu Changle bit her lip, "Father will definitely return to the capital. He's a good official, he'll surely win."
Do good officials always win? Qiuli was noncommittal, but there was one point he had to agree with: Zhu Maonian was indeed a rare good official. He had served the royal family loyally for decades, his heart full of concern for the emperor's realm and the welfare of the people. Even in his current predicament, this hadn't changed.
Come to think of it, it was hard to say whether it was because Great Wan's fate wasn't sealed yet, or if Zhu Maonian's loyalty had moved the heavens, giving him a daughter like Zhu Changle. Let's not even mention whether Zhu Maonian could have made it to Yunbei alive without Zhu Changle. No matter how capable Zhu Maonian and his son were, they couldn't fend off those who truly wanted their lives. Trapped in someone else's web, even if they figured out the situation in Yunbei, their ability to bring this matter to light would depend on whether they could make it out of Xingzhou alive.
