Qin Junyao, startled by the sudden turn of events, looked up abruptly. A man with a thick beard stood behind Erzi, his arm still around Erzi's neck.
It was Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai also jumped when he saw Qin Junyao's face. What a coincidence.
He had gone to the mountaintop that morning and waited for Qin Junyao to practice her zither, but she never appeared. After inquiring downstairs, he learned that Qin Junyao had gone to Yan County without telling her family.
When Qin Junyao didn't return for lunch that morning, only Qin Xiaoyu, who knew the truth, revealed it.
Since he was off work that day, he had come to Yan County to help the Qin family find her.
As soon as he arrived in Yan County, he saw someone suspiciously following a woman who looked like Qin Junyao. He hadn't expected it to be Qin Junyao herself.
"You go behind me. I'll deal with this person," Zhao Liangcai said to Qin Junyao, glancing at Erzi's clothes.
"How will you deal with him?" Qin Junyao's hand holding the wood-cutting knife trembled slightly, and her voice quivered.
Zhao Liangcai retorted, "How did you intend to deal with him just now?"
After the initial surge of adrenaline subsided, Qin Junyao's sense of morality returned. That was a human life. Was she going to silence him forever just to protect her secret?
She couldn't bring herself to do it.
Sensing Qin Junyao's hesitation, Zhao Liangcai smiled. "This person is from Yingfeng Grain Store, isn't he?"
Without giving Qin Junyao time to be surprised, Zhao Liangcai continued, "This grain store is not simple. I have some grievances with the master behind them. I was just looking for an opportunity to catch someone."
"Is that so?" As he spoke, Zhao Liangcai turned Erzi around to face him.
Erzi, regaining his freedom, gasped for air. Then, clutching his bleeding shoulder, he looked up, trying to see who dared to claim grievances with his master.
The moment he saw the distinctive beard, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground. His mind raced with the thought that he was doomed.
They, the shop assistants, rarely acted alone and slept at the shop. Weren't they told that something had gone wrong at Salt Lake? Why was this killing god in the county town?
"Give me the knife. Wait behind me," Zhao Liangcai extended his hand, waiting for Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao suppressed her many questions and, without much hesitation, obediently handed the wood-cutting knife to Zhao Liangcai and moved behind him.
Zhao Liangcai's smile widened beneath his beard. He tested the familiar wood-cutting knife, then pressed it against Erzi's neck and led him into a dead-end alley around the corner.
Silence emanated from the dead-end alley for a while. Moments later, Zhao Liangcai emerged, tucking the wood-cutting knife to his waist. Qin Junyao looked at him, her fists clenched tightly.
Zhao Liangcai understood the meaning in her eyes without her speaking. "Don't worry, he's not dead."
"Let's go. Someone will come to take him away," Zhao Liangcai gestured for Qin Junyao to go first, lest she see something she shouldn't if she looked back.
After leaving the alley, Zhao Liangcai found a small beggar to send a message and then rented a carriage to take Qin Junyao back to the village.
---
Sitting at the innermost part of the carriage, Qin Junyao alternately looked at Xiao Fei, who kept sticking his head out of the carriage window, and at the long legs in front of her.
Zhao Liangcai sat on the right side of the carriage, with his legs resting on the left seat. Qin Junyao was forced to sit at the very back.
Her mind was in a jumble. The events of the morning had been perilous, coincidental, and even a bit melodramatic. The root cause, she realized, was her own overconfidence.
If Zhao Liangcai hadn't appeared so suddenly, the situation would have been difficult to resolve.
Seeing that Qin Junyao remained silent, Zhao Liangcai broke the quiet. "Is the disguise on your face inspired by your uncle?"
"Did that shop assistant do anything bad?" Qin Junyao evaded his question and changed the subject.
"What are you doing in Yan County disguised like this?" Zhao Liangcai, in turn, did not answer Qin Junyao's question.
Qin Junyao pursed her lips. "Is the master behind Yingfeng Grain Store very powerful?"
Zhao Liangcai put his legs down and sat up straight, looking at Qin Junyao very seriously. "Do you have a marriage engagement?"
???
A marriage engagement?
Qin Junyao was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic and instinctively replied to Zhao Liangcai, "No."
Zhao Liangcai lifted his legs again and leaned his upper body against the carriage wall. "The people from Yingfeng Grain Store haven't done anything good. They hoard grain at low prices during good harvests and sell it at high prices during times of disaster."
"However, they do buy high-quality grain and sell good grain. They have a good reputation among the wealthy."
"As for the master behind that store, he is very powerful."
Zhao Liangcai finished speaking and waited for Qin Junyao to respond.
Qin Junyao glanced at Xiao Fei, who was still peeking in to watch the commotion, and answered Zhao Liangcai, "Yes, just strolling around."
This answer was unsatisfactory not only to Zhao Liangcai but even to Xiao Fei, who was watching, as he snorted. It was a truly perfunctory reply.
For the rest of the journey, Qin Junyao strictly adhered to this style of perfunctory answers, saying less to avoid mistakes. She didn't know what that shop assistant would reveal after being taken away by Zhao Liangcai.
The carriage stopped in front of the Qin family's house, and Qin Junyao and Zhao Liangcai alighted.
Only Grandma Qin was at home; she had sent everyone else to clear the land.
Grandma Qin smiled at her granddaughter. "Go wash your face. Look at yourself, you look like a ghost. Does Grandma not let you go out to play?"
Afterward, she looked at Zhao Liangcai. "General Zhao, can we have a chat?"
Qin Junyao didn't know what Zhao Liangcai and Grandma Qin discussed. Her trip to Yan County that day had not caused any major ripples.
Everyone simply told her to inform the family next time she went out, or to find someone to accompany her, and not to sneak away. The matter was then dismissed.
No one asked her why she went or what she did.
Qin Junyao knew this was all thanks to Grandma Qin, who was the only one who could unite the family's voice.
Grandma Qin's single-handed authority saved Qin Junyao a lot of trouble.
After a brief rest, Qin Junyao also went to help with clearing the land. She still needed to use the spatial well water to irrigate the fields.
Zhao Liangcai, in good spirits after his conversation with Grandma Qin, returned home with Xiao Fei and saw Fuzi practicing calligraphy at a table in the courtyard.
"Brother, Suozi Ge is waiting for you inside," Fuzi said, pointing to the main house, and then whispered, "He's unhappy."
"Got it," Zhao Liangcai smiled, patted Fuzi's small head, handed Xiao Fei to a servant, and entered the main house.
Suozi was inside, boredly playing with a teacup. Seeing Zhao Liangcai enter, he placed the cup down on the table with a thud. "You still know how to come back?"
"It's one thing that you're late and leave early every day, but today you didn't even show up. Look, look at me! Look how tanned I am?" Suozi brought his face close to Zhao Liangcai to show him his peeling skin.
"I am off today."
"Off? You, who would rather die at the camp, are saying you want to rest now? All the other seven divisions are secretly instigating the newcomers to cause trouble, and there's movement from the Northwest Garrison. And you want to rest?"
Suozi paced back and forth in the room, agitated by Zhao Liangcai's few words.
"This is all intelligence we have. I believe you can handle it."
"Suozi, let me ask you, is there any way to marry off the Qian family sisters as soon as possible?" Zhao Liangcai poured himself a glass of water and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"What did you say? You want to marry off the Qian family? Then you're not going to investigate your mother's affairs?" Suozi completely forgot his earlier complaints, completely captivated by Zhao Liangcai's current topic.
Zhao Liangcai took a sip of water and nodded. "I will investigate, but it's not necessary to keep them by my side to do so."
"Besides, I want to get married."