Early Spring Trip

Chapter 26

Qinglong had no choice but to flip over, deflecting the hidden weapon with a palm strike. In that instant of delay, a faint fragrance wafted from the woman's sleeve. Qinglong held his breath as the woman leaped away, her lightness skill incredibly agile.

Qinglong stopped chasing, adjusted his internal energy slightly, and felt that he was alright. He figured that the fragrant mist was a smokescreen, so he turned to Su Xiucai with a grim face: "Are you alright?"

Su Xiucai was still holding a broken kitchen knife in his hand, and his chest and shoulders were covered with wounds and bloodstains, which was quite a horrifying sight.

"Why did that person want to kill you?" Qinglong reached out and used acupressure to stop the bleeding.

With a clatter, the kitchen knife fell to the ground, Su Fenghua's head lolled to the side, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

When Qinglong carried the half-dead man out of the alley, he saw Chuxia standing not far from the alley entrance, tiptoeing and peering out anxiously. When she saw Qinglong carrying a blood-soaked figure, her face turned deathly pale: "What happened?"

Qinglong didn't say anything more to her, only saying, "I'll take him back first."

In early summer, she arrived at the East Garden of the Jun Mansion, panting, only to find Bai Xue administering acupuncture while Qinglong stood by, his expression normal. She felt slightly relieved.

Half an hour later, after Bai Xue finished administering the acupuncture and washed her hands, she said to the two people who had been standing silently to the side, "He's fine now."

They both breathed a sigh of relief, but Bai Xue coldly said, "What do you think the Jun family is? A poor, pedantic scholar or a beggar on the street? You think you can send in anything?"

These words were spoken to Qinglong, but for some reason, Qinglong did not refute her this time. He simply pointed at Chuxia and said, "It was Young Master who agreed."

Early summer is busy nodding.

Bai Xue tossed a prescription to Chu Xia, saying, "Go brew the medicine."

In early summer, she ran to the pharmacy, thinking she should hurry, and bumped into someone at the corner of the corridor. Her nose hit the other person's chest, and she cried out in pain twice. Then she glared angrily at the person.

Unfortunately... the other party happened to be Cang Qianlang, the steward she feared most.

Cang Qianlang's expression was very solemn, and he scolded in a low voice: "Why are you running around like a headless fly?"

Chu Xia covered her nose, but looked at the young master behind the steward with tears in her eyes.

The young master sighed softly and asked, "Did you hurt yourself?"

Chu Xia glared at him, her expression clearly saying, "Can't you see that?" But the look was fleeting. Cang Qianlang's face darkened, and he was about to scold her again when he heard the young master say with a smile, "Alright, Qianlang, Chu Xia is no longer a maid of the Jun family. Don't always be so harsh on her."

Cang Qianlang respectfully replied, "Yes."

Chu Xia felt that the young master was the best, so she smiled at him and said, "Young master, I'm going to the pharmacy!"

She ran past the young master, but he stopped her, asking, "Where are you going?"

"Qinglong brought that scholar Su here, but he was being chased by his enemies and is now covered in injuries," Chu Xia said briefly. Noticing the head steward's displeased gaze, she shrank back behind the young master in fear.

The young master smiled, as if he had heard something interesting: "Being chased by enemies?" He then turned to Cang Qianlang and said, "What a coincidence."

Cang Qianlang's expression became even more solemn than before, and he nodded, saying, "There is something strange about it."

Chu Xia looked at them somewhat blankly, but the young master smiled at her leisurely: "Go ahead, but don't be reckless, or you might fall."

As Chu Xia's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, the young master remained standing in place, not leaving, but his voice was slightly cold: "Have you gone to check?"

"Yes." Cang Qianlang nodded. "Qinglong has exchanged a few moves with his opponent. I'll call him over now."

When Qinglong pushed open the door, the young master was fiddling with chess pieces under the lamp. He seemed to be pondering a game of chess, tapping the table with the agate chess pieces intermittently, making a tapping sound, while the lamp flame trembled slightly.

"Young Master." Qinglong leaned closer to examine it closely, pointing randomly, "Go down here."

The young master lazily brushed his hand away and stood up: "Did you study hard when I taught you to play chess before?"

Qinglong, with his thick skin, gave a dry laugh: "Did you come to me about Scholar Su?" Before the young master could ask, he said, "The one who fought me today was a woman. Her martial arts style was very strange; I've never seen her before."

The young master frowned slightly: "A martial arts style you haven't seen before?"

Qinglong nodded affirmatively: "It is a feminine martial art suitable for women to practice, but it is extremely vicious. I can't figure out which school or sect it belongs to."

The young master was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is Su Fenghua? Did he say why someone is chasing him?"

"He's still unconscious," Qinglong said dismissively. "Chuxia was just feeding him medicine."

The young master hummed in agreement and slowly said, "You mean... Chu Xia was feeding him medicine?"

“Yeah,” Qinglong scratched his head. “Otherwise, who’s going to take care of this bookworm?”

The smile on the young master's lips gradually faded. He turned around and threw a chess piece back onto the board, disrupting the game: "Come on, take me to see."

As soon as they entered the room, a strong medicinal fragrance filled the air. The young master squinted slightly and saw Chu Xia turn to the side, put down the medicine cup, and then take a handkerchief to carefully wipe the corner of the person on the bed's mouth.

Qinglong coughed, and Chuxia turned around, quite surprised to see the young master.

It was late spring these past few days, and the evenings were getting warmer. Even though it was early summer, she was dressed quite lightly, with a silk sash tied around her waist that swayed gently in the breeze outside the window. She got up and closed the window, then walked to the young master's side and whispered, "Young master, what brings you here?"

The young master glanced at her sideways, pursed his thin lips, and said nothing. He walked straight to the bedside, bent down, and looked at something.

Chu Xia wanted to follow, but Qinglong stopped her and gestured for her to calm down.

The person on the bed let out a low groan and woke up. Chu Xia couldn't hold back any longer and squeezed next to the young master, saying happily, "Hey, Su Xiucai, Bai Xue said you won't wake up until tomorrow night at the earliest!"

The young master removed his hand from Su Fenghua's Baihui acupoint and his gaze fell on the small table beside the bed. Perhaps fearing that the medicine was too bitter, he had carefully placed a dish of candied fruit on it.

His face grew colder, and he said expressionlessly, "I didn't realize you cared about him so much."

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hearing the displeasure in his tone, Chu Xia gave him a rather puzzled look: "He's just entered the Jun family and doesn't have any friends yet. If I don't take care of him, who else will?"

A smile returned to the young master's lips. He raised his chin slightly and asked the Azure Dragon behind him, "Where are the things?"

Qinglong, carrying a large stack of ledger-like books, hurried forward and tossed them beside Su Xiucai's pillow. He then cautiously observed the young master's expression.

The young master's expression was somber, much like when he himself hadn't practiced properly and was caught out during a spot check, leaving him no choice but to be punished. Qinglong recalled the past, looked at Su Xiucai with a hint of sympathy, and, not daring to say anything more, went to stand at the back.

"It's you?" Su Fenghua had lost track of time, her gaze unfocused for a while before finally finding the familiar figure by the bedside. "Miss Chuxia?"

Chu Xia smiled and said, "It's me. You're alright now, so get some rest."

The young master raised a slight eyebrow, clearly disagreeing. He turned to Chu Xia: "You want him to help in the accounting office?"

Chu Xia nodded, not understanding why he asked so seriously.

"If you want to stay, you'll have to see the ledgers, right?" The young master smiled faintly and picked up the top one. "Mr. Su, take a look. This ledger records whether there's a profit or loss from the end of the year to now."

Su Fenghua looked at the unfamiliar young man with some confusion, then at Chu Xia, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

"Young master, his injuries are so severe, can't you wait a few more days?" Chu Xia interrupted him anxiously, her eyes wide open, looking like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Is it the brain that's injured?" the young master asked casually, turning back to sit down and slowly adding, "Mr. Su, can you understand it?"

After some back and forth, and with Chu Xia gradually explaining things to Su Fenghua, Su Xiucai finally understood who this young man was and why he was here. However, he refused to look at the account book, saying righteously, "I am accustomed to reading the books of sages and worthies, humph... the way of merchants, cough cough cough... forgive me, I cannot do it..."

Chu Xia was both angry at the young master's coercion and annoyed by the scholar's pedantry. She was pleasing neither side, so she angrily threw down the account book in her hand and gritted her teeth without saying a word.

The room fell silent. The young master lowered his head and sipped his tea, remaining calm and composed. Su Xiucai, lying on the bed, had initially appeared defiant, but he secretly glanced at Chu Xia—only to see the young girl clutching her skirt, almost in tears. He felt a pang of pity. He coughed heavily again, his tone somewhat defeated: "A gentleman's wealth is acquired through proper means... I, I, I'll take a look."

When Chu Xia heard him agree, she quickly glanced at the young master.

The young master sat upright, his profile appearing exceptionally refined in the interplay of light and shadow, yet he remained silent.

Su Fenghua tried to sit up, but the movement aggravated his wound, and a look of pain appeared on his face. Chu Xia quickly pressed down on his shoulder and said, "Lie down, I'll hold the ledger for you, you can look at it slowly."

The young master calmly placed the teacup back on the table and gazed at the two without saying a word.

Chu Xia turned the pages for him one by one. After a while, she couldn't help but turn back to ask the young master, "Young master, why don't we come back to investigate tomorrow? It's so late today."

Qinglong looked at Chuxia with some difficulty, then at the young master, and couldn't help but speak up, "Young master, I also think..."

"This...this..." This time, it was Su Xiucai, who was lying in a zombie-like position, who spoke. He closed his eyes tightly, then opened them again, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

"Did you understand?" Chu Xia silently mouthed.

Su Xiucai's pupils became increasingly unfocused, as if he were about to die, and he shook his head.

Knowing this would happen, Chu Xia was somewhat troubled. After thinking for a moment, she silently said, "In February, the surplus silver amounted to nearly three thousand taels."

Su Fenghua rolled her eyes and said weakly, "In February, the surplus was nearly three thousand taels of silver."

The young master smiled slightly, and Chu Xia, knowing when to stop, said, "Young master, look, even a scholar can understand the account book."

The young master stood up and walked to the bedside, but instead of looking at the half-conscious scholar, he leaned down and looked intently at Chu Xia, his eyes filled with confusion: "Chu Xia, why are you helping him like this?"

Chu Xia blushed and stubbornly retorted, "How could I help him?"

The young master smiled enigmatically: "Then ask him where the surplus comes from and where the expenditures are."

Chu Xia was a little annoyed. She couldn't be as calm as the young master. She put the account book aside and stood up, saying, "You clearly agreed yesterday."

The young master's smile faded, and his dark eyes fixed on Chu Xia: "Am I going back on my word now? Is it inappropriate for me to ask a few questions as is customary?"

Chu Xia retorted angrily, "Is this any of your business? You're a young master, when have you ever meddled in such trivial matters?"

The young master smiled faintly: "The entire Jun family estate is mine, what is there that I can't interfere with?"

Chu Xia's face turned pale with anger. She was about to say something more when she felt someone tug at her sleeve. She heard Su Fenghua say haltingly, "Thank you for your kindness, young lady... I've troubled my master here... It's best to go home..."

When Chu Xia saw that the wound on his chest seemed to be slightly reopening, she hurriedly said, "Don't move!" She turned around and looked at the young master again, and said sarcastically, "Before Chu Xia entered the Jun Mansion, everyone said that Young Master Ye An was righteous and chivalrous, and helped the weak and oppressed. But today, he is unwilling to take in even a seriously injured person."

The young master raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression calm and composed as he asked, "Anything else?"

"He's a pedantic scholar, utterly weak—yet he'd rather be beaten than help a bad guy commit a crime. I think he's far more upright than some people!" Chu Xia said angrily. "If you don't want to take him in, fine. I'm not a member of the Jun family anyway. Scholar Su, let's leave the manor now!"

The young master's eyes grew even darker, his lips pressed tightly together, and instead of anger, he smiled: "You're leaving here for him?"

Chu Xia gritted her teeth: "Not bad."

Qinglong stood behind the two, bewildered as to how things had turned out this way. And... what exactly was the reason for the quarrel between the young master and Chuxia? He looked blankly at one, then at the other, utterly dumbfounded.

Outside the window, spring rain fell softly, pattering down from the eaves. A flash of anger crossed the young master's face, then he swept out, stirring up a cool breeze that made the candlelight flicker precariously.

Before leaving, Qinglong ran back to Chuxia's side and warned, "Don't be impulsive. If you take this scholar out now, he won't survive." He scratched his head and looked out the window with some confusion. "I don't know what's wrong with the young master. He suddenly changed his expression. Sigh, I'll go and try to persuade him again."

After saying that, Qinglong chased after him.

Even from a distance, Qinglong could still sense the young master's anger. He followed behind, hesitant, unsure how to speak. A few drops of spring rain fell on his face, feeling cool. Just as he was wondering whether to quicken his pace, the young master in front of him stopped.

"Did she go out?" The young master's voice was unreadable.

"No," Qinglong hurriedly said, "Chuxia was just saying that out of anger. How could she have gone out?"

The young master remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Did I go too far in what I did today?"

Qinglong choked for a moment, thinking he had misheard. He had grown up by the young master's side since childhood. Although he was unruly and mischievous, and the young master was quite indulgent towards him, deep down he held the young master in high esteem and relied on him greatly.

This is the first time I've ever been asked for my opinion like this.