Taosheng, standing at the doorway, helplessly pressed his palm to his forehead.
Heavens above, when Young Master regains consciousness, he’s going to kill someone, isn’t he?
After an eerie silence, Zhu Yàn quietly stood up, turned around, and walked outside. When he reached Taosheng’s side, he paused for a moment and cleared his throat: “I wasn’t here today.”
“Uh.” Taosheng nodded dumbly.
Yang Houcheng came to his senses as if awakening from a dream, striding quickly to catch up. He patted Taosheng’s shoulder once: “Right, I wasn’t here either!”
His strength was considerable, and Taosheng was knocked off balance by the pat. By the time he stood up in a daze, he could no longer see those two figures.
“They all ran away, only I couldn’t run.” Taosheng made a bitter face as he went to attend to his master, who was counting cabbages.
After this commotion, the Li Residence was filled with a certain weariness that follows after great clamor, and everyone in the mansion remained very quiet.
Qiao Zhao finally received news from Chen Guang.
“Third Miss, we found the idle man who was following us. Our general has him under control now.”
Qiao Zhao: “…” What do you mean by “our general”?
“What did that idle man confess?”
“The idle man confessed that near the teahouse outside the residence, a master and servant pair dressed as men gave him money to follow us. He followed us to Bichun Tower, then led that master-servant pair to Bichun Tower.”
Qiao Zhao’s heart sank as a certain person suddenly flashed through her mind.
Could it be Li Jiǎo?
If it were her, this could be quite troublesome.
Her plan to have the Marquis Changchun’s household beat gongs and drums in apology, specifically declaring that she had been framed by someone who found her displeasing, was killing three birds with one stone.
First, she wanted the Marquis Changchun’s household to clear her name. Second, she wanted to deter those who would always try to cause her trouble in the future. But most importantly, she wanted to use the Jinlin Guards to root out the real perpetrator.
When Marquis Changchun’s household beat gongs and drums, making their rounds, everyone would know that the real culprit was someone who had grievances with her. When people thought of such a person, the first one who came to mind would be Jiang Shiran.
If this matter was indeed done by Jiang Shiran, it would add to her troubles. If it wasn’t, given Jiang Shiran’s temperament, she would certainly have the Jinlin Guards investigate and wouldn’t suffer this injustice in vain.
This way, the person who used her as a scapegoat wouldn’t get away with it.
But—
Qiao Zhao sighed deeply.
But she truly hadn’t expected that Miss Li would do something that hurt the enemy by a thousand while damaging herself by eight hundred!
This was wonderful now. Once the Jinlin Guards traced it back to Li Jiǎo, the Li Residence would still have massive headaches.
Qiao Zhao helplessly pressed her palm to her forehead.
It wasn’t that she schemed too much; it was really that the enemy forces were too stupid…
Just as she was feeling vexed, Chen Guang looked around, then suddenly stepped closer and whispered: “Third Miss, our general has already found out who the perpetrator is.”
Qiao Zhao snapped back to attention and twitched the corner of her mouth: “Speak properly. What do you mean by ‘our general’? The general is just the general.”
“Uh.” Chen Guang scratched his head in confusion.
Why was Third Miss so concerned about forms of address?
“Does that idle man know the perpetrator?”
“No, the idle man doesn’t know them. Speaking of which, you and our general are kindred spirits. You had me look for that idle man, and our general also sent scouts to investigate. Then the scouts found some clues that could identify the perpetrator.”
That’s not how “kindred spirits” is used!
Miss Qiao was already powerless to say anything more and just nodded, indicating for Chen Guang to continue.
Chen Guang lowered his voice: “Third Miss, the scouts traced the perpetrator’s escape route. That perpetrator ultimately crawled through a dog hole from a small alley into the West Residence. There were even traces of the perpetrator’s vomit left on that path… So the perpetrator is someone from the West Residence!”
Seeing that Qiao Zhao’s expression remained unchanged, Chen Guang looked full of admiration: “Third Miss, did you already know?”
“No… I only just found out, too.” Qiao Zhao sighed deeply.
“Third Miss, the perpetrator can be confirmed as someone from the West Residence. With the idle man’s identification, we can certainly find that person. So our general had me tell you that what to do next depends on your thoughts.”
“I understand.” Qiao Zhao lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then asked: “Why would your general—”
She swallowed the rest of her words.
Shao Mingyuan was being responsible. With Grandpa Li’s entrustment, was he planning to take care of every detail for her?
It was just a pity that she wasn’t used to having others solve everything for her. If she had known earlier that Shao Mingyuan would help quietly without a word, she wouldn’t have gone about forcing the Jinlin Guards to take action in such a roundabout way.
“Why would what?” Chen Guang asked in confusion.
“Nothing.” Qiao Zhao shook her head.
Chen Guang grinned: “Third Miss, don’t be embarrassed. It’s only right for our general to take care of you.”
Qiao Zhao pressed her lips together.
Where exactly was it “only right”?
Acting like this, if it were any other young lady, she would have fallen for him long ago, wouldn’t she?
What a master at winning hearts!
Chen Guang blinked in confusion.
Why didn’t Third Miss seem moved when his general had done so many good deeds?
Uh, she even seemed a bit angry!
“Chen Guang, please help me express my gratitude to General Shao, and I have another favor to ask of him.”
“Third Miss, please speak freely. Your matters are ones our general will help with.”
Qiao Zhao’s expression darkened slightly.
The bewildered Chen Guang: “…” Why was Third Miss unhappy again?
“Please trouble you to tell him that the Jinlin Guards will very likely also investigate the perpetrator. Please ask him to help me clean up the loose ends so the Jinlin Guards don’t trace it back to the Li family.”
Li Jiǎo’s matter should be resolved behind closed doors.
“Alright, I’ll go tell the general right away.”
“Wait a moment.” Qiao Zhao called out to Chen Guang, took out a small porcelain bottle from her pouch, and handed it over. “This is a small token of my gratitude to General Shao. When I return, I’ll thank him properly.”
“No need to thank him, no need to thank him. Our general helps you without expecting anything in return.” Chen Guang worked hard to build goodwill for his general.
Miss Qiao’s expression grew even darker: “But I’m unwilling to accept others’ help for nothing. These are Cold-Dispelling Pills. Take one daily, and they can make your general feel somewhat better.”
Chen Guang’s eyes lit up: “Cold-Dispelling Pills? Third Miss, can these reduce our general’s suffering?”
Qiao Zhao was silent for a moment, then asked: “Is General Shao in great pain?”
Chen Guang nodded: “Yes, although the general doesn’t say anything, we personal guards all know that whenever the weather changes, the next morning the general’s clothes are soaked through from the pain…”
Speaking to this point, Chen Guang couldn’t continue. This grown man had reddened eyes.
“After staying in the Northern Territories for so long and frequently fighting in the ice and snow, eight or nine out of ten soldiers contract cold poison. You’ve all worked hard.”
Chen Guang’s ears reddened slightly: “It’s all our duty.”
Then he sighed: “Our general wasn’t originally this severe. Later, he went to gather the thousand-year ice, which made him like this. The doctors say our general can’t be cured, but after returning to the capital, the general won’t see the imperial physicians.”
“Don’t worry. After Physician Li returns to the capital, he’ll examine General Shao.” Qiao Zhao’s mood was somewhat complicated.
Was Shao Mingyuan an idiot? The person was already dead—what use was preserving the body from decay?
Anyway, she didn’t care about him.