Chapter 37 : Murderous Devil (4)

At the Lantern festival, there were not only beautiful lanterns, but also various kinds of snacks. Yuxi looked at a booth with a large number of people and asked, “Eldest Brother, Second Brother, what are they eating?”

Glutinous rice dumpling in sweet rice wine

Image credited to 依琴 via QQ.com (百果酒酿圆子，酒酿香甜，圆子小巧，光亮细腻糯软，百果馅心香甜, November 13th, 2018)

“Glutinous rice dumpling in sweet rice wine?” Yuxi hadn’t heard of it, but this didn’t prevent her from trying it. “Big Brother, Second Brother, let’s try it too!”

As a result, this attempt was irremediable. Yuxi wanted to try every snacks her eyes caught sight of which made her tasted many snacks, such as several thread eyebrow flaky pastry (三丝眉毛酥 sān sī méimáo sū), three fillings lotus flaky pastry (三鲜莲花酥 sān xiān liánhuā sū), crab meat filled steam bun (蟹黄包 xièhuáng bāo), rolling donkey (驴打滚 lǘ dǎgǔn), pea flour cake (豌豆黄 wāndòu huáng), etc.

Yuxi muttered to herself, “I really lived in vain in my last life.” She felt sad whenever she thought of her past. She didn’t have much happy days back then.

When Han Jianming saw that Yuxi was having such a good time eating snacks, he smiled and said, “Don’t eat any more. You’ll have indigestion if you eat too much. If you like to eat them, I’ll let people buy it for you later. Now, let’s go see the lantern boats.“ The lantern boats event was the liveliest moment in the festival .

Yuxi was going to walk there by her own, but Han Jianye grabbed her and held her up in his arms. “There will be many people around later on, so I will hold you for your safety,” he said. Han Jianye was a martial artist, and his hands were very strong. Besides, she was not heavy. So, holding her was not a big problem for him.

Hearing this, Yuxi smiled sweetly at him.

Not to mention Han Jianye, even Han Jianming’s mood grew better after seeing Yuxi’s sweet smile. He then said, “If you like it, I’ll take you out again next year.”

Yuxi was so delighted, “Okay! Thank you, Eldest Brother.” In her previous life, she stayed at home every single day and didn’t know anything of the outside world. It would have been better if she still went out and had a look at the world outside.

Immortal Old Man of Longevity with Immoral (Great Birthday Party at Cooltron Group Shenzhen office, July 18th, 2016)

Han Jianye had beforehand asked his attendant to hold a favourable position for them to best view of the boats. Once there, Yuxi looked at the lantern boats floating on a river by the city wall. They were built in different shapes which included the shaped of Immortal Old Man of Longevity holding an Immortality Peach, water lilies with handwritten jin yu man tang (Chinese phrase : may gold and jade fill your house (hall)) phrase, and animals in each colour and each form (Chinese idiom : variety / diverse / in all kind) were also constructed.

Yuxi looked at a distant lantern boat which was built like fairy palace, and sound of music could also been heard from it. That boat was different from others as there was a real person dancing on it, not just a design. She muttered, “Why is there female dancer dancing on that boat?”

Han Jianming said with a smile, “Well, it happens that this kind of thing is getting popular.”

They were excitedly watching the lantern boats when they suddenly heard someone screaming from the opposite river bank, followed by the sound of loud weeping and the continuous cries for help. Those who were watching the lantern boats also started to rush in every direction. People could be seen surging around in chaos.

Then, came the sound of people felt into the river. Splash! Splash!

Since both of the riverbanks were too far apart, everyone on one side couldn’t actually see what happened in the opposite riverbank. However, Yuxi actually caught sight of so many people felt into the water that she could not help but shivered. Even if she was in good health, she would still suffer a serious illness once she felt in the river, especially in this cold winter.

The people on this side of riverbank also began to panic when they heard the cry for help. Han Jianye hastily said, “Eldest brother, let’s hurry back!”

Han Jianming shook his head and said, “No, it’s a mess now. The road must have somehow being blocked. It is better to find a safe place rather than leave right away.“ This way was much safer for them.

Yuxi felt that her Eldest Brother thought much more thoroughly compared to her Second Brother who was somewhat inferior.

A group of people had chosen a rouge shop nearby to stay safe. At this time, there were already many people in the rouge shop, which showed that there were many people who shared the same ideas as them.

Han Jianming didn’t care either way. He found a corner where there was no one standing and said to one of his attendants, “Go and find out what happened just now across the river.”

While Yuxi hastily said to Han Jianye, “Second Brother, please let me down!” Just now, when an accident happened on the opposite riverbank, Han Jianye immediately picked her up, which made her felt very irritated.

The attendant who went to inquire about the news soon returned. They finally knew why there was chaos across the river. It turned out that the Tenth Prince had secretly came out of the palace to see lantern boats, and finally met an assassin.

Yuxi was stunned. Tenth Prince was Yuchen’s future husband and future emperor. It was unexpected that he would come to see the lanterns and meet the assassins on that day.

Han Jianming’s face was a bit ugly, “Is the Tenth Prince all right?”

The attendant nodded and said, “Tenth Prince is alright. I heard he was just frightened.” The Tenth Prince may had escaped the disaster, but the common people around him couldn’t even save their lives.

Meanwhile, Han Jianye was concerned about other thing, “Has the assassin been caught?”

The attendant shook his head as he answered, “I don’t know.”

Han Jianming whispered, “I’m afraid there will be another storm.” The Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were all born by Imperial Consort Song. She were also deeply favoured by the Emperor, so the Song family now hold great power in the court. The assassination attempt on the Tenth Prince was bound to set off another huge storm once this news reached the palace.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Yuxi hastily said, “Fortunately, we are not across the river today, otherwise we will certainly suffer too.” She said this intentionally to change the subject, not that she wasn’t aware of this specific incident, merely that she found this situation was odd.

Han Jianye nodded and said, “That’s true. If someone falls into the water, that person will definitely be in serious illness. “

Han Jianming was not worried about his own family. His father was currently not in the court, and his second maternal uncle, who had an official position, was also assigned outside of the capital. They would not be dragged into any big conflict happened inside the court.

Less than half an hour later, the people outside had all started to disperse. Han Jianming took Yuxi out of the rouge shop to find his own carriage.

“Cousin Jianming, wait a minute.” As they walked along the road, they suddenly heard someone calling.

Yuxi’s ears were very sharp. Just by hearing this voice, she immediately knew it belonged to Yun Qing and she turned muddleheaded. She did not know why she kept on meeting him, even when the capital was this huge, like they were fated to meet.

As they approached, they discovered that Yun Qing was holding a girl. The girl looked as if she were asleep.

Han Jianye was somewhat surprised and asked, “Whose girl are you holding in your arm?”

Yun Qing shook his head, “I don’t know. I caught sight of one crafty-looking (Chinese idiom : shifty-eye – having the appearance of being dishonest, esp as signified by a lack of eye contact) guy carrying this girl in his arms. At that time, it was chaotic and since I couldn’t do anything, I started to follow that man. When questioned, the man was indeed a kidnapper and he tried to take advantage of the chaos to kidnap this little girl. “

Yuxi felt that her eyes must have been blind. The Murderous Devil from the rumour unexpectedly just saved a life. This situation had actually changed her view of him from his terrifying reputation.

When Han Jianming saw that they were having a conversation, he noticed that the little girl still had not woken up, so he immediately asked, “Has this little girl being drugged?’

Yun Qing stopped Han Jianming further questioning to ask for his help, “I don’t know. She was already unconscious when I saw her. Cousin Ming, do you think I can put her in your carriage? “ Yun Qing rode a horse when he left his house. It was no problem for him to ride by himself, but it was inconvenient to bring an unconscious girl along.

Han Jianming nodded and said, “Okay.”

Yuxi carefully looked at the little girl in Yun Qing’s arms. The little girl looked about six or seven years old. She was wearing a pink rose-scented golden brocade dress. The jewellery she wore was also exquisite. Yuxi knew at a glance that she was a child from a wealthy family. No wonder Yun Qing could quickly conclude that the man holding the little girl was a human trader.

Yuxi’s mind started to turn as she said, “Eldest Brother, it is inconvenient for Cousin Yun Qing to bring along a little girl with him. Why don’t we take her back to our residence and ask a doctor to take a look at her?“

Han Jianye didn’t know that Yuxi could be this warm-hearted, though he also thought that her idea was actually good. He immediately asked for Yun Qing’s opinion.

Yun Qing didn’t have that much thought on the matter. He just assumed that Yuxi just suddenly being overflowed with compassion. He nodded and said, “This is just right. I’m separated from my cousin. I have to find him.” Jiang Hongfu had a family to protect him, so Yun Qing was not worried about his safety. What he was afraid of was his cousin being worried about him.

Having settled the matter, Han Jianming left two attendants to see if anyone would come back to look for the child. If there was, they should immediately be taken directly to the Duke of the State’s official residence.

Qiu Shi heard the news that there was an accident happened at the lantern festival and many people had died. At that time, she almost passed out of fear, however she managed to sent out a group of people to inquire more about the news.

Mama Li lifted up the curtain and looked at Qiu Shi, who was being over worrying. She felt that this was not good, so she said, “Madam, I just got the exact news. Both the Heir and Second Young Master are alright. Madam no need to worry too much about it anymore.”

Qiu Shi still couldn’t believe it that she had to ask, “Really?”

Mama Li nodded and said, “It’s absolutely true. I have been told that Master Heir and the others will be home soon.”

When Han Jianming finally arrived at Duke of the State’s official residence, he asked a strong old woman to hold the unconscious little girl. Before, he couldn’t do anything when Yun Qing was holding the little girl. However, now that they were in public place, for the little girl’s reputation, it wasn’t good for him to let any other male to carry her.

Han Jianming ordered his attendants and said, “Send for a doctor immediately.” The girl hadn’t woken up yet, which was also a troubling matter.

When Qiu Shi saw Han Jianming coming back with a little girl, she was shocked that she asked, “What’s wrong with this girl?” It was impossible to fall asleep in this situation. The only explanation was, something had happened to the little girl.

Han Jianming said, “It was a mess just now. A child kidnapper took the opportunity to kidnap this girl. Fortunately, he met Eldest Brother Yun and it was him who had saved her. Mother, don’t worry, I have already sent for a doctor.“

Qiu Shi cried a prayer ‘Merciful Buddha’, then hurriedly asked the old woman to put the little girl on the bed.

The doctor soon came. After doing some diagnosis, he asked them the cause. When he heard their answers, he said, “This girl has been drugged.” Once he done saying that, he took out a small blue porcelain bottle from his medicine cabinet. He opened the lid and put it under the little girl’s nose.

Yuxi smelled a pungent smell.

Although she didn’t know what was inside the little porcelain bottle, she knew it had a remarkable effect as she saw the little girl quickly opened her eyes.

The little girl was shocked to find so many people around her. She thought that she was captured by the kidnapper, so she cried in horror, “Who are you?”

“Sister, this is Duke Han of the State’s official residence,” Yuxi quickly answered.

When the little girl heard that it was Duke of the State’s official residence, she asked incredulously, “Is this really the Duke Han of the State’s residence?” Not that she didn’t believe it, but what she saw before she became unconscious was clearly a scoundrel.

Yuxi said with a smile, “Sister, rest assured. The kidnapper has been caught. Sister, where is your home? “

The little girl looked at Yuxi’s clothes and the furnishings in the room. She breathed a sigh of relief, “Did you save me?”

Yuxi did not dare to take credit for it, “No, it was Cousin Yun Qing who had saved sister. We met him on the way and then we brought sister here.”

Qiu Shi felt that Yuxi had talked for a long time without getting to the point, “Little girl, can you tell this aunt who are your parents? I’ll send a letter to them, or they’ll be very worried.“ She was also a mother. If she knew her child had been lost, she wouldn’t know how worried she would be!

The little girl hurriedly said, “My name is Duan Xinrong. My grandfather is the Right Imperial Censor of the Capital Censorate.”

The Right Imperial Censor of the Capital Censorate was a second rank senior official. It wasn’t difficult for Qiu Shi to understand the situation. So, she immediately ordered people to send letters to the Duan’s family home.