Chapter Eighty-Seven: Panic — Our Young Master Has Fallen Ill

The meaning of those words made both father and daughter, still kneeling, freeze in surprise. But the middle-aged man soon shook his head and lifted his face slightly.

“Second Miss Qin, you are a kind person. Qu Le has told this humble one everything. She said that you are very good to others, and even knowing that this humble one’s family was being controlled by Madam, you still did not beat Qu Le. Qu Le is very happy serving Second Miss.”

“Second Miss, this servant wishes to stay by your side!” Qu Le lifted her tear-soaked face as she cried.

“Is it not better for a family to remain together?” Qin Wanru looked at the middle-aged man with an unreadable expression. His face was plain enough that it would never stand out in a crowd.

“Replying to Second Miss, this humble one had to search for my master while also working to earn a living. My wife also fell ill, and I could not provide for so many children. I had intended to sell them off one by one first, and then, if I ever found my master and had money later, I would see whether my master might show mercy and grant them back to me.”

The middle-aged man spoke bitterly, and it was clear that every word was true. His eyes reddened.

His words carried both loyalty to his master and deep love for his daughter. Yet when one considered his present plight, anyone who heard him could only conclude that this was the only possible way.

He was merely a servant. Even if he had once brought money with him to search for his master, ten years had passed in that search. How could he possibly still have any money left?

With no other choice, he could only sell his daughter to survive.

If they stayed together, not a single member of the family would live. If they were sold off, then should they be fortunate enough to fall into a good household, they might still live decently.

“Qing Yue, give him ten taels of silver,” Qin Wanru said after staring at the middle-aged man’s face for a long moment in silence.

“Yes, Miss!” Qing Yue hurried back inside to fetch the silver.

“Take the silver and move away. Do not let Madam find you again. As for Qu Le, she may stay. However, I do not keep idle people by my side, nor do I keep disloyal ones.” Qin Wanru’s dark eyes settled deeply on Qu Le. “If you cannot do it, then go down the mountain with him. Consider the silver my support.”

“Miss... this servant is willing to follow you. In the future, I will obey only your commands.” Qu Le was clever and immediately replied through tears, genuinely grateful to Qin Wanru in her heart.

She actually knew very little about her father’s affairs. Seeing that Qin Wanru not only did not blame her, but even had Qing Yue bring out silver, she felt both sorrow and anguish. At this moment, she truly wanted to pledge her loyalty to Qin Wanru.

She had not been in the residence for long, and had not interacted with Qin Wanru many times. There could hardly be said to be any deep affection between them, but at that moment she was truly moved.

After speaking, she bowed and knocked her head three times heavily on the ground, each one sincere and heartfelt.

“Second Miss, rest assured. Once I return, I will move away at once and never let Madam find this humble one again. From now on, Qu Le will follow Second Miss!” The middle-aged man wiped his tears and said decisively.

Qing Yue came out from the inner room, handed the silver to Qu Le’s father, and then stepped back to the side.

“How will you avoid Madam’s search? In Jiangzhou, Madam’s word still carries considerable weight,” Qin Wanru asked with a slight frown.

“Second Miss need not worry. I have heard that the Madam of the house has recently fallen into discord with the general. At the moment she can barely keep herself afloat and has little time to concern herself with this humble one. I will move away as soon as I return and tell none of the neighbors. For a while, she will not be able to trace me. I am only worried about Qu Le...” Qu Le’s father’s thoughts were clear, but when he spoke of Qu Le, he hesitated.

He could avoid Madam Di, but Qu Le, who remained in the general’s residence, could not avoid her.

“My people, I will protect myself. So long as she is truly loyal, I will not allow anyone to bully her,” Qin Wanru said gently, her gaze resting thoughtfully on Qu Le’s father.

What a clever man he was. He had even discerned Madam Di’s current position in the general’s residence. Qin Wanru believed that the servants in the household were not the sort who would gossip with a stranger who had only just entered the estate; therefore, he must have carefully inquired and pieced it together himself. To visit her estate only three times and already uncover the inner household mistress’s situation—this man was no ordinary person.

“Then this humble one thanks Second Miss. I shall take my leave first!” Qu Le’s father stood up, wiped his tears once more, and for the first time raised his eyes to Qin Wanru. After a brief pause, he looked back at Qu Le with obvious reluctance, and then departed in sorrow.

From this departure onward, no one could say whether they would ever meet again.

Qu Le looked after his retreating figure in grief, crying so hard she could not catch her breath.

“Go and see your father off,” Qin Wanru said as she turned and walked back inside.

Qu Le froze for a moment, then overjoyed, she hurriedly kowtowed again to Qin Wanru before rising and running after him.

“Miss, this...” Qing Yue glanced at the figure rushing away, somewhat uneasy, then turned and followed Qin Wanru back into the courtyard.

Once inside, Qing Yue prepared a fresh cup of tea for Qin Wanru and brought it over, standing by with something on her mind.

Qin Wanru took a sip, set the cup down, and turned her clear eyes toward Qing Yue with a smile. “Does Qing Yue have something to ask?”

“Miss, from now on, can Qu Le be trusted?” Qing Yue asked quickly.

“For now, place her among those who can be used, but still be cautious and observe her for a while,” Qin Wanru said after some thought.

“Then what her father said—was it true?” Qing Yue still had doubts. She believed Qu Le to be trustworthy enough, since the young lady had shown kindness to her and her family, but she still dared not relax her guard.

“It should be true as well. He is indeed a loyal servant, still searching after so many years,” Qin Wanru sighed, her words carrying an implied meaning. “Even to the point of not sparing his own daughter.”

He was a clever man, and a very clever one at that. In just a few short sentences, he knew exactly what to say and how to say it so that others would pity him rather than resent him. If such a man had devoted himself wholly to honest labor, it should not have been impossible for him to support even his own children.

Yet he had fallen into such a state.

There was some pity in it, but also admiration. Still, no matter how admirable he seemed, Qin Wanru would not be foolishly kind and allow herself to be used by others.

“Does Miss mean that what he said was true? But who would have needed searching for so many years?” Qing Yue asked in astonishment.

“That master should already be dead. Otherwise, how could he not have been found in all this time?” Qin Wanru shook her head. She found it strange too, but such matters belonged to another household and had nothing to do with her.

Madam Di must have been paying close attention to this matter, and may even have wanted to place Qu Le with her and Qin Yuru. But she had not expected Qin Wanru to move first and take the person for herself. That was why she had gone to such lengths to force Qin Wanru to drive Qu Le away, or at least keep her out of her sight.

Afterward, she had tried to use this opportunity to inquire after certain matters from Qu Le’s father—likely those concerning his master. But Qu Le’s father was a sharp one; he had not revealed the slightest thing, and instead had drawn Qin Wanru’s attention.

Though this matter had nothing to do with her, there was an inexplicable strangeness to it, as if some unseen force had moved her heart to feel pity for this father and daughter.

Qu Le returned quickly, wiping her tears as she came back.

After entering, she knelt and knocked her head three times again before Qin Wanru, who then had Qing Yue help her up.

“Did you know about your father’s affairs?” Qin Wanru asked casually while holding a medical book and reading.

“This servant did not know anything about Father’s affairs. Father never spoke of them to this servant or to my sisters. I never imagined... that Father would have such hidden troubles. I used to hate Father and felt that he could not even be a proper father,” Qu Le cried. She truly had known nothing of her father’s past and had always thought him useless.

“Your father... is a loyal servant,” Qin Wanru said with a sigh, but did not continue. “Go wash your face.”

“Yes, Miss!” Qu Le answered respectfully. Her father had repeatedly instructed her just now that since she had entered the General’s Residence of Ninyuan and was under Second Miss Qin’s protection, she must remain absolutely loyal to Second Miss Qin in the future and never betray her master.

Qing Yue took Qu Le away to wash up. Qin Wanru’s gaze fell on the book, yet the words before her seemed to leap apart one by one. In her mind, she caught a flash of the moment when Qu Le’s father had looked at her face.

He had paused.

It was a strange sensation. At that instant, the middle-aged man had seemed somewhat bewildered, though the confusion faded quickly.

Had she seen wrongly, or misunderstood him? She always felt that glance carried a deeper meaning. In that moment, her heart had also given a sudden lurch, as if something had slid through it—but after that, there was nothing.

She reached up and rubbed her temple. It always felt as though some portions of the events from her past life had been cut away; in a haze, she seemed able to grasp something by instinct, yet at the same time unable to hold on to it.

For the next few days, Qin Wanru’s life remained as usual. However, Qu Le gradually came to be valued. Whenever there was something Qin Wanru did not wish others to know, she would send Qu Le to run the errand.

Only after truly using Qu Le did Qin Wanru realize that Qu Le was a perceptive girl, sometimes even decisive and quick to react. Though she was only a second-rank maid, she was never timid in word or manner.

This was an unexpected delight for Qin Wanru. She had too few usable people around her, yet the people in the household were ones she had never dealt with and did not dare trust lightly.

Xuanzi stopped Qu Le when she went to fetch the food basket. At first, Qu Le thought he was some minor lecher and did not dare bring him before Qin Wanru. But Xuanzi kept blocking her path so persistently that she had no choice but to bring him to Qing Yue.

Qing Yue recognized him as Xuanzi at once and took him aside to speak. After once being tangled together at the water vat, the two of them could be considered acquaintances.

“Xuanzi, what brings you here to see our young lady?” Qing Yue asked only after looking around and seeing no one nearby. Her mistress had instructed her not to let others know of Xuanzi’s existence, so Qing Yue was very careful.

“Our master is ill!” Xuanzi was so anxious that sweat covered his head. Grabbing Qing Yue as though he had found a relative, his eyes even reddened. He pulled her a little farther inward.

“Hasn’t your prince always been ill?” Qing Yue replied carefully the moment she heard it concerned that young prince.

To her, Prince Chu Liuchen always looked unwell, so of course he must have been sick all along.

“This time it is much worse. It... it was from being too exhausted that day, the day of the General of Ninyuan’s wedding!” Xuanzi feared Qing Yue would not understand, so he explained in greater detail.

“What happened that day?” Qing Yue still did not understand.

“It was... our master’s condition worsened that day, but he does not want to take medicine now. He asked for Second Miss Qin to come and take a look,” Xuanzi said anxiously.

“I... our young lady does not know how to treat illness!” Qing Yue said nervously, afraid she might let slip that her mistress could actually diagnose and treat illnesses.

With a status like that, if anything went wrong, her young lady would never be able to shoulder the consequences.

“We’re not asking your young lady to treat our master’s illness. We only want her to persuade him. I think your young lady and our master have quite a good relationship!” Xuanzi clenched his fist, looked around, then leaned close to Qing Yue’s ear and whispered a single sentence.

Qing Yue staggered in shock and nearly fell over.