Cold Encounter with a Madman - Chapter 18

The Yuan family’s poetry competition had been held for many years. In the past, it had always gone smoothly, but this year, there was an exception.

Fortunately, Yuan Fusheng had a magnanimous temperament and did not care about such trivial matters. What she did care about was why Xun Qi had participated. Was it for this money?

One thousand taels of silver was but a drop in the ocean for a great noble family; ordinary people would not even compete for it. Miss Xie was from a branch of the Xie family and competed for such worldly silver to support her own life. But Xun Qi was the Young Mistress of the Yan family; why had she come to compete?

Yuan Fusheng had no choice but to confront Yan Zhi’an. Yan Zhi’an, in turn, looked at Xun Qi with a sense of hopelessness. “Are you short of money?”

“Me?” Xun Qi pointed to herself, recalling that for these past days, her food and clothing had been the best of the best. Her life had undergone a massive change, and she had never had to worry about a single meal. Hearing her mother’s words, she could not help but lower her head in guilt. Just then, Yan Seventeen popped up: “Ninth Sister, I was the one who asked her to come.”

The fourteen-year-old girl hung her head, unable to lift it due to guilt, her earlobes flushed with shame. Yan Zhi’an glanced at her, sighed with gentle helplessness, and said: “Seventeen, take all the silver. Xun Qi, go back.”

Xun Qi: “…” What about my five hundred taels?

She opened her mouth but did not dare to speak. She silently closed it; the silver that was within her grasp had flown away.

Yan Seventeen beamed with joy and thanked Yan Zhi’an enthusiastically: “Ninth Sister, you really love me. Thank you.”

Yan Zhi’an merely replied: “You broke other people’s tables and chairs. Do you not have to pay for them?”

Yan Seventeen’s beaming face instantly froze. “Me? I was not the one who started it! Sister, it was not me.”

Miss Xie shrank back; she had not won the prize money, so she certainly could not afford to pay for the damages. Her small actions did not escape Yan Zhi’an’s sharp eyes. Yan Zhi’an looked at her with a smile: “Miss Xie, what do you think?”

“I… I… Concubine.” Miss Xie looked at Yuan Fusheng in despair, stamping her feet anxiously, not knowing what to do.

Yuan Fusheng sighed. Since the Left Chancellor had already spoken, if she said there was no need to pay, would it not be a slap in the face? She said helplessly: “How about this? The few of you go to my academy and lecture for a few days as compensation. How does that sound?”

“Lecture?” Xun Qi felt as if she were facing a great enemy. She was only a half-baked scholar herself; how could she educate others? She hurriedly tried to refuse, but Yuan Fusheng held her down: “You are exempt. You have more important things to do.”

“Do what?”

“Come tomorrow and you will see.” Yuan Fusheng kept her in suspense, then bowed to the Left Chancellor: “You may go now.”

Yan Zhi’an had enjoyed the show and felt satisfied. She nodded at Yuan Fusheng with ritualistic politeness and turned elegantly to leave. Xun Qi hurried to follow. Yan Seventeen was so happy with the silver that she could not stop smiling; she could buy many things all at once. Her companions breathed a sigh of relief, all wearing smiles.

Only Xun Qi, climbing into the carriage, hung her head, feeling gloomy and unhappy.

“Do you want money?” Yan Zhi’an saw the little thing’s unhappiness at a glance, but she did not understand: “If you were short of money, why did you not tell me?”

“Hmm?” Xun Qi’s nasal sound was slightly heavy, sounding soft and making one’s heart strings soften. Yan Zhi’an asked strangely: “What are you ‘hmming’ about?”

Xun Qi replied: “I earn money with my own abilities; I do not want to rely on you for everything.”

“Oh?” Yan Zhi’an let out a laugh. Xun Qi was so ashamed she wished she could disappear. “Do not laugh. I know that in your eyes, I am just a child, but you cannot negate my strengths.”

“If you do not rely on me, who do you rely on?” Yan Zhi’an laughed until her shoulders shook, covering her cheeks with one hand. Xun Qi had a bit of cleverness, but if this cleverness was not backed by power, what did it amount to?

After laughing, she looked directly at the girl, her tone solemn: “Xun Qi, I need a qualified Head of the Household, not a daughter who worries about trivial matters. Do you understand? You worry about a thousand taels of silver and need to spend a day fussing over it, but tell me, you could have obtained it in a single breath. Because you were born a powerful person. The powerful do not bother with such things. You have greater uses. Why would you use a luminous pearl to crack a walnut?”

Xun Qi suddenly understood. She lifted her head to gaze at her mother, her eyes moving up inch by inch, from the bright red lips to those sharp, unparalleled eyes. Her heart suddenly raced.

Those eyes were long and narrow, the corners slightly raised, bright like cold stars, carrying an unquestionable aura.

Xun Qi took a deep breath and nodded: “I understand.”

“How much money do you want?” Yan Zhi’an, having disciplined the child, looked at her calmly. “Forget it. Go find Wushuang yourself; she will give it to you. Buy whatever you want. I can afford to raise you.”

Xun Qi was not an extravagant child, and since following her, she had never mentioned money. It seemed she had been negligent.

Yan Zhi’an thought for a moment and said: “The Yan children receive a monthly allowance. I do not know how much Seventeen and the others get, but if you want it, just name a number, and it will be allocated to you every year. Spend it if you want, or save it if you don’t. It is your money. I will not ask about it in the future.”

“A monthly allowance?” Xun Qi chewed on the unfamiliar term.

Yan Zhi’an had to explain: “Because the blood of the Yan family flows through your veins, what the Yan family gives you is by nature of your bloodline, not given without cause. Because you are my daughter, this is what you deserve.”

This money is mine because I am Yan Zhi’an’s daughter. Xun Qi interpreted it this way. She was stunned for a moment, and the next second, she was patted on the head by her mother: “Is a few taels of silver worth so much trouble?”

Xun Qi looked up and gave her mother a brilliant smile: “Understood.”

“You seem to know martial arts?” Yan Zhi’an asked a more important question. Since the six arts included riding and archery, she was preparing to hire famous teachers to instruct Xun Qi. However, watching her pinch a person’s neck today, her movements were fast, not like those of a weak person.

Xun Qi nodded: “The Madwoman taught me some fist and foot techniques.”

Yan Zhi’an had nothing left to say. This Madwoman truly was omnipotent; she knew almost everything.

She hesitated for a moment, and then the carriage stopped abruptly. She was forced to lunge forward, and the carriage overturned in an instant.

“Protect the Head of the Household!”

Yan Zhi’an fell, dizzy and ears ringing, but someone grabbed her body. “Run!”

Xun Qi anxiously pulled her mother, turning to look at the black-clad man charging toward them, her legs softening. Should she run or keep pulling? In a flash of lightning and thunder, she struggled to pull Yan Zhi’an’s body, lunging to the side with her. The assassin’s blade hacked into the roof of the carriage. In the blink of an eye, he lunged toward them.

The cold blade looked particularly chilling in the early spring. Xun Qi pulled Yan Zhi’an to run, but Yan Zhi’an did not have her speed. Before they could get up, the assassin’s blade came slashing down again. Xun Qi had no choice; she pushed her aside and lunged at the assassin herself.

“Xun Qi…” Yan Zhi’an felt her heart go cold, watching helplessly as Xun Qi hugged the assassin and pushed him backward.

Yan Zhi’an panicked: “Wushuang! Wushuang, protect the Young Mistress!”

As the words fell, the assassin’s head was pierced by an arrow, and the blade in his hand fell to the ground. Xun Qi reacted even faster, fiercely pushing the assassin away, picking up the blade on the ground, and turning to run toward Yan Zhi’an. Just as she turned back, several assassins were pierced by arrows and collapsed. The remaining few turned to run, and Yan Zhi’an roared: “Wushuang! If you cannot keep them alive, kill them all!”

She would rather kill them all than let them escape!

Xun Qi ignored her words and instead helped her up, checking her body: “Are you hurt?”

“My leg hurts…” Only after being asked did Yan Zhi’an notice a piercing pain in her ankle, and anger surged in her heart.

Xun Qi did not think much of it, simply squatting down and reaching out to touch her ankle.

Seeing the girl squat down, Yan Zhi’an could not help but take a step back, but the girl complained: “Don’t move, let me see.”

Yan Zhi’an actually paused, looking down at the girl’s nape. Her cold, hard heart softened involuntarily: “Why did you not run just now?”

“If I ran, what would you do?” Xun Qi answered without even thinking, then stood up: “You sprained your ankle and the carriage is broken. Shall I carry you?” She sighed as she spoke, her small face flushed, her eyes incredibly bright and brimming with water, like a hot spring in the dead of winter, warming her heart for no reason.

Yan Zhi’an could not help but get angry: “Next time, you must run yourself.”

“Run and leave you behind?” Xun Qi looked at her, puzzled: “Is your brain broken?”

Yan Zhi’an felt completely powerless. How was she to explain? Xun Qi was not an ordinary person; if she truly died here, the entire Yan family would be buried with her. She looked helplessly at the girl with the sincere heart, her throat bitter. She wanted to say that her own life was the most important. But that logic was wrong; people should not be so selfish. Just as she was feeling completely helpless, the girl smiled and told her: “Don’t worry, if it were anyone else, I would have run. I am not stupid.”

After saying this, the girl bent down: “I will carry you back. It is dangerous here too.”

“I do not want you to carry me.” Yan Zhi’an was so frustrated she wanted to die. She turned her body, but as she moved her foot, pain drilled into her bones, turning her face deathly pale.

Xun Qi sighed: “Why are you so stubborn?”

“None of your business.” Yan Zhi’an had nowhere to vent her bitterness and reached out to pinch her ear: “Xun Qi, I am telling you, you made a mistake.”

“Mistake, mistake, I made a mistake, okay? Let go of me and I will carry you back.” Xun Qi cried out in pain. She really could not do anything about her; she was such a grown person and still acting like a spoiled child.

“Head of the Household, let us ride back on horseback.” As the mother and daughter were at an impasse, Wushuang brought over a horse.

Xun Qi’s face turned cold: “Are you stupid? She sprained her ankle; how can she ride a horse? How can she get on?”

Wushuang was scolded for no reason and looked at Yan Zhi’an helplessly. Why did this tone sound so much like the Head of the Household?

Yan Zhi’an had a headache and looked at Xun Qi: “You are truly a headache. I am going to ride a horse. Why should I listen to you?”

“Is your brain sick?” Xun Qi blurted out. She regretted it as soon as she said it; she could not talk to her like that. She subconsciously stole a glance at her mother. Fortunately, Yan Zhi’an was in too much pain to stand and did not pay attention to this act of insubordination.

Just as the three were at an impasse, a horse galloped from ahead. The person wearing official attire dismounted and walked to the Left Chancellor: “Left Chancellor, an urgent report from the capital.”

“Wushuang.” Yan Zhi’an signaled Wushuang to take a look.

Wushuang took the urgent report, her expression changing slightly: “The Empress has found the daughter of the Ming Emperor, announced it to the ancestors, and welcomed her back into the royal family.”

Yan Zhi’an’s expression changed slightly. She reached out to snatch the urgent report and read it carefully. It was indeed correct. She turned to look at Xun Qi. The Empress had welcomed back her own daughter, so who was Xun Qi?

In an instant, Yan Zhi’an felt she had fallen into a pit.

Is the Xun Qi before her a fake?