Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 30.1

Chapter 30.1
Lord Zhang, buy a carriage!

After Luo Wanqing listened to his words, she raised her eyes to look at him; she was momentarily unsure if this person in front of her had heard her conversation with Xiang Sizi.

“You worry about me?” Luo Wanqing stared at him and asked straightforwardly.

Cui Heng smiled and answered, “You killed many Feng Yu Pavilion’s people. I’m afraid you’ll get ambushed if you come out alone.”

Luo Wanqing froze, not expecting Cui Heng not to mention anything about the possibility of her doing something terrible, but was worried about her safety. She stared at Cui Heng, who seized her up and down, and after confirming that she was not in serious trouble, he released her hair, turned around, took the initiative to lead the horse, and said gently, “We’ve retrieved the horse, so let’s go back.”

“Who did you meet just now?”

He took the horse’s rein away, and the two walked side by side.

Luo Wanqing glanced at him; Cui Heng did not conceal it and said, “It seems to be someone from the Feng Yu Pavilion.” Not waiting for Luo Wanqing to open her mouth, Cui Heng seemed to be concerned: “Maybe they are here to kill you; you have to be careful.”

When these words were out, Luo Wanqing knew she did not have to explain; he would pave the way for her; there was no need to ask about tonight’s matter.

Luo Wanqing didn’t confirm his meaning, but since he didn’t ask, she did not take the initiative to mention it.

The two of them walked back to the Inspection Department.

Cui Heng gave the horse to the attendant and sent Luo Wanqing back to the room. When they arrived at the door, Luo Wanqing was about to close it when she heard Cui Heng suddenly say, “Xiniang.”

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes in doubt; Cui Heng encouraged: “The current Feng Yu Pavilion is considered a waste like the Ming Pavilion. There is only one Left Envoy, which is not enough to be afraid of, but they also have a Dark Pavilion that used to deal with internal affairs. I am not sure which family clan, but the clan has many martial artists who have trained since childhood. You should be careful.”

Luo Wanqing heard the words and vigilantly raised her eyes to Cui Heng.

Cui Heng smiled and added, “It’s not easy to mold the bones, Xiniang; I cherish you; you should cherish yourself. Recuperate well in these few days; do not overwork yourself.” Saying this, he nodded in farewell and turned around with his lamp.

After seeing Cui Heng enter next door, Luo Wanqing closed the door and lay back on the bed. She didn’t understand Cui Heng’s meaning and couldn’t pinpoint Cui Heng’s attitude. Cherish herself? The cherishing he mentioned, was he asking her not to get involved in the matters of the Feng Yu Pavilion, or was he asking her to recuperate her body?

Luo Wanqing couldn’t believe it was the latter. Listening to Cui Heng’s words, he should be aware that she met with the people from the Feng Yu Pavilion tonight, but he shouldn’t know what they said or that they plotted against Xie Heng’s head. Xie Heng is his cousin, and Cui Heng shouldn’t let her leave so lightly.

Cui Heng let her off the hook, perhaps because of a bit of friendship when she desperately returned to save him or because he had shaped her bone. For Cui Heng, he shaped the bone for her; it was like receiving a disciple, so he put hope on her. Wouldn’t it be a shame to destroy the person he had gone through so much trouble to save?

Thinking of Cui Heng’s protection, Luo Wanqing couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. But there was nothing she could do about it.

Thinking of her family members who were still in the hands of Xiang Sizi, Luo Wanqing immediately calmed down and realized that this was the most important thing. She could not trust Xiang Sizi’s words, but her family was in his hands. If she listened to Xiang Sizi and killed Xie Heng, she would become a knife of Xiang Sizi in the future; Xiang Sizi controlled her family and could only follow his orders. Like Zhang Jiuran, she could not kill Xiang Sizi because she did not want to involve her family. If she promised Xiang Sizi, then she and Zhang Jiuran would be no different in the future.

She promised Zhang Jiuran that Liu Xiniang would live a different life; she is not a knife dimmed by hatred. She couldn’t fully believe Xiang Sizi’s words, but they could not be completely disbelieved either.

Empress disliking Li Guiyu is true, so, in the dream, after Li Guiyu came to power with Xie Heng’s assistance, he exterminated the entire Wang clan. It was also true that Li Guiyu and Xie Heng were planning to ally. But if they allied, it would be far too difficult for her to kill Li Guiyu. She had to save her family from Xiang Sizi. She had to get the mother parasite from Xiang Sizi to save Zhang Jiuran. She also had to destroy the alliance between Xie Heng and Li Guiyu and couldn’t let Xie Heng become Li Guiyu’s helper. It would be better if she could just kill Li Guiyu.

Luo Wanqing stroked the sandalwood bracelet on her hand, pondering the current situation. She was only a pawn in the hands of these people, but when everyone wanted to use her as a pawn, she could control these people instead.

What Xiang Sizi wanted was to kill Xie Heng; what Xie Heng wanted was the Feng Yu Pavilion. She could overthrow either side and let them snipe at each other as long as she grasped it well. If Xie Heng is not problematic, she can use the Feng Yu Pavilion as bait to approach him and then use his power to destroy the Feng Yu Pavilion to save her family and get the mother parasite.

If Xie Heng is a problematic person — then she can look for an opportunity to kill him, surrender to the Empress, and then use the Empress’s hand to kill Li Guiyu. Before killing Li Guiyu, she could save her family. She needed to stabilize Xiang Sizi, confirm her family’s safety and well-being, and understand Xie Heng as a person.

Why did he ally with Li Guiyu, and was there any chance to break their alliance? Should he, or should he not, be killed?

When Luo Wanqing thought about it, she couldn’t wait to go to Xiang Sizi and ask him to show her her family. But she knew that she couldn’t be in too much of a hurry. Perhaps the Feng Yu Pavilion had been watching her all along. During that negotiation, Xiang Sizi knew her very well and purposely brought up the relationship between Li Guiyu and the Empress to make it clear to her why Xie Heng must die because he knew that she wasn’t an abusive murderer.

Then, she also had to give Xiang Sizi enough reasons to trust her, or Xiang Sizi’s guard against her would be extremely high. Moreover, if she showed that she valued her family too much, she would be easily subjected to Xiang Sizi instead. She had to make Xiang Sizi feel that she, as a person, had high personal principles and wasn’t 100% subjected to her family’s lives so that her family would be a bit safer.

She needed a timing that would make it seem more natural for her to make a decision, and when Xiang Sizi trusted her, she would go and confirm her family’s situation. And this timing, Xiang Sizi had given it to her.

Luo Wanqing thought of the sentence, ‘In a couple of days, Li Guiyu will be paying a visit.’ According to Xiang Sizi, he was confident that she would submit to the Feng Yu Pavilion if she heard Li Guiyu and Xie Heng’s conversation.

At this thought, Luo Wanqing could not help but be curious. What would they talk about that made Xiang Sizi so sure she would abandon Xie Heng? But it wasn’t something she could guess; she took a deep breath and lay down on the bed, deciding not to think much about anything else, just waiting for Li Guiyu to visit, then taking proof of the broken alliance between Xie Heng and Li Guiyu, and then going to look for Xiang Sizi to negotiate.

Her first step is finding the news when Li Guiyu will visit. But Li Guiyu’s whereabouts are challenging to probe; when they used to get along, nobody could track them, and he would discover those who tracked them in less than a mile. Even those who specialize in robbing homes are like this: where can she go now to find someone who can keep an eye on Li Guiyu?

Luo Wanqing thought left and right; several candidates flashed through her mind, and she finally decided to explore tomorrow. She rested for a day, and when she got up the next day, she rummaged through the closet for a long, ordinary blue dress and a peach blossom mask and walked out. Her face was a bit too scary to be noticed walking down the street, and although the mask would also draw attention to her, it was much better than this face. She saw Cui Heng standing in the doorway when she opened the door.

Cui Heng saw her dress and looked up and down, then understood: “Agent wants to go out?”

“En.” Luo Wanqing nodded and raised her eyes to look at Cui Heng: “What are the arrangements for today?”

Once he heard Luo Wanqing’s words, Cui Heng knew that Luo Wanqing had other arrangements and only asked, “What does Agent want to do?”

“I want to go out to do something. Why don’t you take the day off?” Luo Wanqing asked uncertainly.

Cui Heng raised his eyebrows and asked, “Agent wants to do something behind my back?”

Luo Wanqing was slightly guilty. She coughed lightly and answered, “I have a personal matter.”

Cui Heng stood in the doorway, quietly looking at her without saying anything.

Luo Wanqing said, “I can decide on this matter, right?”

“Of course,” Cui Heng nodded, raising his hand respectfully, “I will listen to Agent.”

“Then take your rest.” Luo Wanqing didn’t dare to look at him and hurried down the stairs, parting ways with Cui Heng. She didn’t know why; perhaps it was because she had bumped into Cui Heng the night she met Xiang Sizi. So today, she felt overly sensitive when she was going to act alone. As she came down from the upper floors, her heart beat hard as if she was going to do something terrible.

She was indeed doing bad things. But she can’t do anything about it. She has to deploy people to spy on Li Guiyu as soon as possible; it’s best to hear Li Guiyu and Xie Heng talk and then go to see Xiang Sizi. It’s easier to gain Xiang Sizi’s trust, and knowing the root of the alliance between Xie Heng and Li Guiyu will make her understand how to cope with them in the future.

She held back her guilt and observed if Cui Heng had followed her; after confirming that Cui Heng hadn’t followed her, she inquired and found the courtyard where Qin Jue was.

Qin Jue had already brought Zhang Jiuran back and was giving her a massage in the courtyard; when he saw Luo Wanqing come in, he froze, then frowned: “Why are you here?”

Luo Wanqing closed the gate and walked to see the courtyard; seeing Zhang Jiuran like a dead person, her heart was not in the right place. She looked up at Qin Jue and said softly, “Is she alright?”

“Her tendons and bones barely survive, but practicing martial arts is out of the question. Her five senses are all gone; she’s now like a living person nailed in a coffin; she doesn’t know anything; she’s just hanging her life on herbs. If the medicine stops, the person will die.” Qin Jue explained, then said, “What’s the matter?”

“I want to get the mother parasite from Xiang Sizi, but I need you to do me a favor.” Luo Wanqing said, “Can you find someone to keep an eye on Li Guiyu for me?”

“Li Guiyu?” Qin Jue frowned, “Why do you want to keep an eye on him?”

“That’s my business.” Luo Wanqing didn’t say more.

Qin Jue thought about it and shook his head, “I can only borrow the people from the Inspection Department right now; if you want to keep an eye on Li Guiyu, you’ll have to ask them.”

Luo Wanqing choked. If she wanted to use someone from the Inspection Department, would she still need Qin Jue? She needed to determine what Xie Heng and Li Guiyu’s positions were before determining her own.