Continued without the protagonists, there are more important plot than the previous chapter
Outside the house stood two groups of people guarding, facing each other coldly, the atmosphere stiff.
It seemed as if they would fight in the very next moment.
This was the royal palace, not daring to say it was impregnable, at least it was strange and dangerous to those in the martial world.
Moreover, Qiu Jing had only brought two trusted aides, who silently sneaked into the palace without alarming the outer guards.
It was only that Cheng Jingchuan had cautiously set up many defenses around himself, including experts transferred from Fengxing Pavilion, so once she appeared, it inevitably caused a burst of chaos. The people of Fengxing Pavilion looked at each other, apart from embarrassment, there was also intense unease.
Qiu Jing’s trusted aides kept a close watch on them, preventing these people from sending out any messages.
There was nothing else in the palace houses, just that it was large enough. With the inner hall’s screens and the outer hall’s windows and rooms blocking the way, even with extremely high martial arts, it was very difficult to hear what was being said inside.
The Imperial Guards still held their composure, but the martial world people could not.
“Old Luo, where did you all come from?”
A goatee-bearded man disguised as a guard said to the trusted aide who had been following Qiu Jing all year round, “Wasn’t the young master in the North?”
The other party did not buy it at all and said coldly, “It’s the Pavilion Master, Fengxing Pavilion had no so-called young master.”
“Hey, Old Luo, it’s meaningless for you to say that. Outsiders call him Mr. Qiu. What do we call him?” The goatee-bearded man rolled his eyes and argued, “We call him benefactor, old master, because both Mr. Qiu and the young master had shown us the kindness of giving opportunities and saving our lives. Without Fengxing Pavilion, we brothers would have either robbed each other in the martial world or set up a small gang to fight life-and-death battles for a bit of silver. Don’t even speak of settling down with families, we probably would not even have kept our own lives.”
Old Luo ignored him. The goatee-bearded man grew even more enthusiastic, raising his voice, “I admit, the young master had the ability and means to raise our Fengxing Pavilion to today’s splendid reputation, but one should not forget one’s roots. From where did the original manpower of Fengxing Pavilion come? Whose silver was circulated? Was it not Mr. Qiu’s?”
He walked up to Old Luo and said arrogantly, “Mr. Qiu did not like us calling him benefactor, but we could not forget these things. What about the young master? Without Mr. Qiu, could she… could she have what she had today?!”
The goatee-bearded man originally planned to say a few unpleasant words, but he swallowed them back at the tip of his tongue.
After all, Mr. Qiu only had one daughter, and she was no worse than a son.
Although the goatee-bearded man, from the bottom of his heart, felt that women should stay at home embroidering, sewing, and cooking, saying it directly would utterly offend Qiu Jing, and might even offend Mr. Qiu.
Old Luo endured his anger, his fists clenched so tight that his bones cracked audibly.
The goatee-bearded man believed himself to be in the right, pressing forward without mercy, “Old Luo, let me give you a piece of advice from our years as brothers. Mr. Qiu and Commander Cheng had grand ambitions. What they wanted to do was not just sell information to scrape by in the martial world. The young master was indeed extraordinary, but she was, after all, a woman.”
The Imperial Guards watching were somewhat surprised. They could stand here naturally because they were greatly trusted.
——Wasn’t Mr. Qiu without a son, and his daughter had died years ago? Otherwise, how would it be Cheng Jingchuan’s turn?
Their thoughts were very common, the prevalent notion of this era.
Without asking about one’s ability, a father’s possessions should belong to a son. Without a son, a son-in-law or a student could do as well.
Suddenly, some people looked at the house with changed eyes. Cheng Jingchuan had not married to this day, could it be——
No wonder the Third Princess’s favor was taken as nothing!
The Imperial Guards believed they understood the key points inside, while the Fengxing Pavilion people actually started to fight.
Old Luo smashed his fist into the goatee-bearded man’s face, as if he had stirred up a hornet’s nest. In the courtyard, the sound of blades being drawn and swords unsheathed rang out neatly.
“You!”
The goatee-bearded man jumped up wanting to fight, but was pushed aside by a tattoo-faced old man.
“Enough, what did this look like?!”
This tattoo-faced old man had some prestige. Once he spoke, both sides temporarily subsided.
However, this tattoo-faced old man was on Cheng Jingchuan’s side. He held a delicate snuff bottle, moved closer to smell it, and then said slowly, “Hunjianglong said ugly words, he should not have offended the young master like this, but what he said was not wrong in principle. No matter how capable the young master was, she was still Mr. Qiu’s daughter. Without Mr. Qiu’s far-reaching foresight, could she have achieved today’s accomplishments? She had good foundations, recognized people, and settled matters no less than any man. As a child, should she not kneel and thank her parents for the flesh and blood they gave, and the grace of their teaching and upbringing?”
This implied that the innate talents Qiu Jing was born with were Qiu Si’s credit, and the skills she acquired later were also Qiu Si’s credit.
Even the fact that Fengxing Pavilion could initially gain a foothold in the martial world could not have been separated from Qiu Si’s scheming—without people who had received his kindness, without the money he provided, without the channels he held, would a young lady newly stepping into the martial world not have been devoured until not even her bones remained? Even if Qiu Jing had great abilities, to secure a place in this martial world would have taken her at least several decades.
Yet Fengxing Pavilion took only a dozen or so years to reach its current position.
Old Luo’s face turned greenish-purple. Looking at the smug goatee-bearded man, he wished he could knock all his teeth out.
Outside, swords were drawn and bows were bent, while inside, it was instead calm and peaceful.
Qiu Jing had traveled for several days and nights, and her body had already been exhausted to the extreme. Had it not been for her internal energy supporting her, she would have collapsed long ago.
Even so, her eyes still shone as brightly as fire.
Blood ties were a subtle bond. Qiu Jing did not look like Qiu Si, and their temperaments were even more drastically different, yet these eyes made Cheng Jingchuan feel pressured.
He inconspicuously shifted his gaze, picked up the purple clay teapot on the table, and slowly poured out a cup of perfectly brewed tea.
“Pavilion Master Qiu, please.”
This was the first time Cheng Jingchuan met Qiu Jing.
Before this, they both knew of each other’s existence but had never met properly. At most, as the master of Fengxing Pavilion, Qiu Jing had mingled among the crowd to scrutinize Cheng Jingchuan a few times because for a certain period, Cheng Jingchuan had been a figure of note in Ningtai City. He had caught the eye of the King Ning’s third daughter.
In the eyes of others, Cheng Jingchuan did not have a prominent family name, was not from the imperial examinations, and could not climb up through connections of classmates, fellow townsmen, or those of the same year. Possibly, aside from a handsome face, he had nothing else. The Third Princess had always been wanton. In fact, it was no issue to bring commoners, scholars, or even Taoists and monks into her residence; once the door was closed, no one cared if you indulged recklessly. But setting her sights on a ranked military officer was different. Officers had to show up for duty at appointed times and could not go missing without reason. If he was not willing to be a kept man, forcibly taking him would not succeed.
—To be honest, even if the Third Princess wanted to abduct him by force, it would have been impossible. Cheng Jingchuan was not a scholar so weak he could not truss a chicken.
As for other traps and schemes, to Cheng Jingchuan, they were child’s play. If he could not even evade these, how could he have survived under Qiu Si’s hand until now?
In this back and forth, it instead aroused many people’s curiosity, making them want to see exactly what kind of extraordinary figure Cheng Jingchuan was. Riding this wave, Cheng Jingchuan caught the eye of quite a few influential and noble individuals. Perhaps most of them did it just for laughs, to have a joke after meals, but there were also truly talented individuals who admired Cheng Jingchuan.
Turning a bad thing into a good thing was not difficult; the hard part was standing firm amidst rumors and gossip.
For instance, he could not let the King Ning think that this lowly captain had tarnished the royal family’s reputation and find some reason to eliminate him.
“That you could come this far, even I felt it was not easy for you.” Qiu Jing slowed her tone, trying not to appear so aggressive.
Separated by a small desk, the mist from the clear tea slowly rose, transforming into a fleeting illusion that vanished in an instant.
Cheng Jingchuan watched the changing mist and suddenly chuckled, “Before today, you did not think so.”
Qiu Jing paused, then nodded without avoidance, “Yes, I thought you were just someone ambitious and aspiring, and there were too many people like that. You might have been a more outstanding one, but that was all.”
“…Now you have discovered Mr. Qiu’s true face.” The smile in Cheng Jingchuan’s eyes took on many more complex layers.
Qiu Jing suppressed her anger, her tone icy, “He really was a good father.”
“Not to hide anything from Pavilion Master Qiu, in earlier years, I thought Mr. Qiu had a strange personality but still harbored a kind fatherly heart. You were his weakness, his bottom line.” Cheng Jingchuan spoke softly, his expression strange, as if carefully weighing each word he was about to utter.
He wanted to turn his words into a blade, yet not make it too sharp; he wanted them to bring pain, yet remain within the wounded person’s tolerance.
“In the entire Ningtai City… no, in all of Jiangnan, could you find another like him, willing to wholeheartedly raise his daughter, see that she was no ordinary person, and even comply with her wishes, freeing her from all restraints to fulfill her ambitions?”
Without waiting for Qiu Jing to respond, Cheng Jingchuan answered himself, “No. Not only was there none in Jiangnan, there was none in the entire world. After you left, the Qiu family publicly declared that their only daughter had died of illness—not that she had gone to a country estate to recover, nor that she had become a nun to pray for blessings. Mr. Qiu left no margin at all. You could no longer appear as the Qiu family’s daughter, and in the future, that identity would not drag you back into the inner quarters to have you married off or bring in a husband to continue the Qiu line. Back then, I wondered what kind of magnanimity and fatherly love this was. In front of you, he was always a good father. His mad and eccentric side, you never knew. Originally, only a few knew this secret—just his trusted aides, his soon-to-die enemies, and perhaps… your mother, who had passed away long ago?”
In his youth, Qiu Si appeared to outsiders as a lofty scholar unwilling to associate with common folk.
Because of a dispute with a friend, driven by pride, he left a note and crossed the south alone to join King Ning of the fallen Chu. Naturally, he settled down in the south, established a family and a career, yet remained frustrated and unsuccessful, able only to hold a minor official position. Not only were there no offspring under his knee, but both his wife and daughter died young due to lingering illnesses.
Qiu Jing had not died, but her mother truly had passed away, having contracted an illness during the postpartum period that lingered for five or six years before ultimately being incurable and leading to her death.
For this reason, from childhood, Qiu Jing had made up her mind that no matter what kind of person she became in the future or what aspirations she held, she would never have children.
For a woman to bear a child was a genuine gateway to the underworld, and it would not have gone easy on anyone regardless of their status or ability.
To realize grand ambitions and take command of fate, one first had to survive. Yet, because Qiu Jing was born a woman, there was an additional life-and-death ordeal.
This difficult hurdle was very easy to solve, yet also very hard. It was Qiu Si who waved his hand and helped Qiu Jing resolve this problem. If she had been trapped in the inner chambers, no matter how talented Qiu Jing was, she ultimately would not have had the power to defy her father. To say that Qiu Jing did not feel grateful to Qiu Si was impossible.
Yet even this gratitude was tainted by shadows.
At the very least, it numbed Qiu Jing, and further established the image of a benevolent father.
As the master of Fengxing Pavilion, could it be that Qiu Jing knew nothing of Qiu Si’s movements? That was certainly impossible. She only believed in Qiu Si’s disguise, believing that Qiu Si intended to restore Chu and strengthen the nation. King Ning was like rotten mud that could not stick to the wall, the aristocratic clans of Ningtai indulged in power struggles, the wastrels lived drunken, dreamy lives. If no one tried to change all this, what good would supporting a clever little prince do?
Qiu Jing had absolutely no idea, nor would she believe, that Qiu Si was a madman.
Before today.
Everything in Ningtai City, the movements of Fengxing Pavilion, the slander of her former subordinates, and even Cheng Jingchuan’s current expression, all served to prove this point.
Qiu Jing seemed as if she had awakened from a long dream, with reality turning into a sharp blade, stabbing her until she bled.
“You don’t need to provoke me any further. My mother knew nothing, just as I once did.” Qiu Jing said expressionlessly.
Cheng Jingchuan lowered his head and continued pouring tea. Water overflowed the porcelain cup, trickling through the gaps of the tea tray into the squares below.
The fragrance of tea filled the air, permeating the lungs.
This was a tribute from Jiangnan.
Qiu Jing suddenly raised her hand to take it, and said to Cheng Jingchuan, “You and I are merely precious tea leaves by that man’s side. Good tea should be brewed, even if not drunk. Because if it is left in the jar, it will only absorb moisture and lose its flavor. When he pairs good tea with good water and fine porcelain, it is not respect or cherishing, it is merely because he feels in his heart that this is the proper way.”
The teacup overturned, leaves and water spilling together.
Cheng Jingchuan sighed, “Pavilion Master Qiu sees clearly. Mr. Qiu did not intentionally disguise or deceive, he… perhaps was born lacking those qualities. He did not know love or hate, cared not about love or hate. He realized he was different from others, so he spent many years perfectly pretending. Now that he is old, it is no longer necessary.”
When the picture is exhausted, the dagger is revealed. The chess game had reached its end.
Separated by a small table, the two silently faced each other.
Both of them had misunderstandings about Qiu Si. Cheng Jingchuan had thought that Qiu Jing was Qiu Si’s weakness, yet at the last moment, he discovered that Qiu Jing was merely a useful chess piece in Qiu Si’s hand. Because this piece could play a great role, Qiu Si could transcend the rules of the world and give Qiu Jing all kinds of advantages. Once the piece was no longer useful, he could discard it without remorse.
As if obstacles had blocked their eyes, only now could they see everything clearly.
“There are eighteen mechanisms and three traps in this room.” Cheng Jingchuan had not moved from his position the entire time. He spoke softly, “I believe Pavilion Master Qiu has already noticed that something is amiss in a few places.”
“He wants you to kill me?”
“Mr. Qiu merely wants me to choose, and he probably knows what I will choose.”
Cheng Jingchuan suddenly lifted the tea tray, revealing the mechanism’s hub hidden beneath.
“I don’t want to kill you, but will you kill me?” Cheng Jingchuan stared at Qiu Jing and asked, word by word.
Qiu Jing’s martial arts were far inferior to those top-notch experts like Su Li, yet she was already remarkable in the martial world. If she wanted to kill Cheng Jingchuan, those outside would definitely not react in time. She might even cut off his arm and slit his throat before he pressed the mechanism.
Cheng Jingchuan was also very aware of this. He half-closed his eyes and smiled tiredly:
“Pavilion Master Qiu, this is the conundrum Mr. Qiu has given us. You came with murderous intent, but you cannot kill Mr. Qiu. Even if you killed him, it would be useless. He has handed everything over to me, and the only one who can stop me from raising troops for war is you. You are the master of Fengxing Pavilion. Perhaps Ningtai City is not under your control, but you can still persuade the various connections and forces north and south of the Yangtze. The people of the martial world are a motley crew. If they won’t listen to the elders and helmsmen of Fengxing Pavilion, they will listen to you. If you go all out, you can at least delay me by three to five years.
“If you die here, I will have no worries. If you kill me, Mr. Qiu will no longer have a suitable successor, and perhaps the scourge of war in Jiangnan will be resolved. Make your choice. The situation of Jiangnan, and indeed the entire world, as well as the lives of you, me, and countless others, will be decided here in this room, at this very moment.”
Author’s note:
It was mentioned before that Qiu Si had an antisocial personality. This setting is not meant to just make him look cool; it actually explains why he treated his daughter so well, yet had no feelings for Qiu Jing.
People like him are born incapable of developing feelings for anyone or anything other than themselves, and they lack empathy. However, they are extremely adept at observation. Through observation, they can disguise themselves perfectly, providing others with what they urgently need, whether psychologically or materially, making them rather terrifying.
————
After suddenly realizing what a weirdo her father was, Qiu Jing looked at Cheng Jingchuan with a complicated expression: It was not easy for you to get here.
Cheng Jingchuan, who had thought that Qiu Si’s love for his daughter meant he was at least somewhat normal, and ended up getting tricked: …I was actually jealous of you before. Now I think I was a fool.
These two are not a CP. Don’t believe the random imaginings of the background characters in the text.
