Chapter 319: Chapter 319: So It’s Her
Huang Zai’an, his mustache twitching with irritation, was visibly upset.
“How can you say that? Don’t you know you should listen to your elders?”
Qu Wei, fearful that Huang Zai’an might suddenly strike him, shuffled to one side and snorted.
“Have you considered that the Hu father and son are from Beiyuan? If he were to poison people and harm Longnan, wouldn’t he be destroying his own defenses? He wouldn’t dare establish such a bluff!”
“You…” Huang Zai’an tried to reach out to hit him but couldn’t reach, swearing in frustration.
“You little rascal, haven’t you considered that, for over a decade, it was I who helped prolong your life, allowing you to live until now?”
...
At these words, Qu Wei immediately softened, hurriedly going forward to massage Huang Zai’an’s back.
“Don’t be angry, elder. I’m just trying to provide a perspective for Yueyue here,” he said.
“Brother, you might be right,” Qi Yue suddenly had a thought, “I wonder if this could be why the poisoning disaster hasn’t struck yet.”
She stoked the fire in front of her slightly, continuing to ponder.
“Given Qing Nanzun’s character, he would surely choose a time when I’m not in Longnan to make a move. However, I was delayed in Yanjing for two months and now another month has passed, yet there has been no movement from the poisoners, leading us to doubt they even exist.”
“This suggests that these poisoners might indeed be under Hu Chengxuan’s control, possibly waiting because his desires do not align with what Qing Nanzun wishes to see, so he refrains from acting.”
“However, should the day come when all seems lost, or if Hu Chengxuan is cornered, he might very well act recklessly, dragging everyone into hell.”
This analysis once again stunned everyone.
Little Shanzi, being just a child, said nothing, but Qu Wei and Huang Zai’an, understanding the gravity of the situation, immediately tensed up.
“What should we do then? If it’s as you said, won’t we all be doomed?” Qu Wei quickly straightened his clothes and stood up, “I think we should find somewhere else to hide.”
Huang Zai’an slapped him, and Qu Wei immediately fell to the ground.
“What are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Hitting you,” retorted Huang Zai’an, still visibly exasperated, “You are truly a waste of life, a man without a shred of courage.”
Qu Wei rolled over to sit up, his face a picture of misery.
“I was just joking, old man! Can’t you take a joke? If I were really a coward, could I have protected you up until today?”
Qi Yue had seen enough of these two clowns.
One old, the other young, yet both acted like children.
“Enough with this nonsense, it’s getting dark, let’s spend the night here. We’ll make our next plans at dawn.”
At Qi Yue’s words, both men quieted down.
The group tidied up the fire they had used for roasting a rabbit, then gathered around it to rest.
Having been on the move for several days, Qu Wei and the others had not slept peacefully. Now, with Qi Yue there, they felt as though they had found their anchor, and soon drifted into sleep.
Qi Yue, however, remained awake.
In the forest, there were no landmarks, only trees.
In the dark night, the tree canopies merged, forming a vast dark cover overhead.
If Zhao Xiyan were here, it would have been different.
He would never have let her just sleep out in the wild like this, at the very least, he would have held her.
In the darkness, Qi Yue slowly curved her lips into a smile.
She fumbled in her space bag, retrieving a letter and, by the light of the fire, read it again.
“My dearest Yueyue, all is well with this letter. Missing you terribly after just a day apart, I wonder if you feel the same. If I receive your letter in six days, that would mean you do. If not,…”
“Heh…”
At the end, Qi Yue couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Just from this letter, she could tell how deep Zhao Xiyan’s resentment ran.
By today, more than ten days had passed since the two of them had separated, and that guy hadn’t received any letters—no telling how angry he must be!
She gleefully read the note again and suddenly remembered she should find a box to store the note in.
Given the current situation, it seemed likely that it would be some time before they could meet again. There would probably be no shortage of letters or notes exchanged.
She looked around the room, searching for a suitable box but found none.
Finally, her gaze fell on an exquisite wooden box in the corner. Her eyes brightened, and she quickly made it appear in her hand.
Looking at the finely polished pattern on the box, Qi Yue suddenly remembered.
Wasn’t this the one Zhao Xiyan had Hu Chengxuan deliver to her back in Dongjiang?
Hu Chengxuan had mentioned that there was a letter from Zhao Xiyan inside.
At that time, she had been so angry to see Liao Ruyan that she didn’t want to deal with Zhao Xiyan at all, and thus didn’t read the letter, even throwing the box away.
But now, she was ready to take a look.
Thinking this, she opened the wooden box.
“So many?”
The box contained seven or eight letters, each folded neatly, as if they had been written but not yet sent.
“No wonder they were stored in a box.”
Qi Yue muttered softly, noting that Qu Wei and two others were sound asleep, snoring loudly. She then took a lamp out for lighting.
She briefly checked the dates on the envelopes and discovered that these letters had been written by Zhao Xiyan intermittently after their separation.
She directly picked the earliest letter and felt puzzled as soon as she opened it.
While it was called a letter, the content was more like a diary-style confession, documenting the events between them from the time of their capture to traveling on Bellast Road.
There were some incidents Qi Yue had forgotten, yet Zhao Xiyan had written about them in clear detail.
Initially, Qi Yue did not understand why Zhao Xiyan would write such things, but she understood after reading through.
It turned out that after she had left Capital City in anger overnight, Zhao Xiyan had soon found out.
He was puzzled as to why Qi Yue had left without saying goodbye, not even a single word.
After all, by then, both of them had already known that they liked each other and had discussed starting over.
Thus, he wrote this long letter, explaining when he had started to have feelings for her, how disappointed he had been when Qi Yue saw him as just a brother because of a misunderstanding, how desperate he had felt during their separation, and finally, how overjoyed he had been when he learned that Qi Yue liked him too.
His purpose was to tell Qi Yue that he did not know what had happened but was worried that there might have been some misunderstanding, which is why he wanted to write everything out.
Qi Yue couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
This Zhao Xiyan really was a genius.
It was hard enough to think this way, and he was even willing to put so much effort into writing such a long letter.
Actually, this wasn’t just a letter but a declaration of feelings, only divided because it was written over different periods.
Within this declaration, Qi Yue found out the truth about the White Jade Hairpin that had been troubling her.
The Lady Bai Shao she had been angry with was actually her!
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Zhao Xiyan wrote that he had once wanted to give her a hairpin, saying that her face was as lovely as white jade and wearing a White Jade Hairpin would be a perfect complement.
The hairpin was originally plain, but because of her red lips and rosy cheeks, it gained a different kind of beauty.
The letter further stated that Qi Yue was his medicine, not only saving his body but also reviving his once-stilled heart, so the flower on the hairpin was the Peony, symbolizing that she was his remedy.
It also mentioned that after the hairpin was carved, because of the misunderstanding Qi Yue wanted a separation, hence it wasn’t delivered immediately.
During the days living in Northern Ridge, each night after she had fallen asleep, Zhao Xiyan would place the hairpin by her pillow, as if she really had adorned it.
Zhao Xiyan also mentioned, after she left, he always felt the White Jade Hairpin had retained her scent. Whenever he saw it, it was as if he saw her.