Emerging from Yu Song-shi’s room, Yu Yi stood alone in the central courtyard, pausing before heading towards the main courtyard gate.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Meng Qing standing far outside the guest courtyard.
Yu Yi’s mouth curved in a smile as she walked towards him. When she reached him, he extended his hand, palm up, and she gently placed her hand in his.
She sighed softly, “Qing, I’m sorry to make you play the bad guy…”
His clear eyes held a gentle smile, “As for playing the bad guy, I’m most experienced.”
He took her hand and they walked along the small stream.
The frozen stream’s surface was not smooth, with protruding irregular pebbles and occasional patches of ice reflecting a blue-green light.
After walking quietly under the starry sky for a while, Yu Yi asked, “I’ve never asked you before, what are you doing all these missions for?”
Meng Qing said, “I want to buy something.”
Yu Yi was surprised, “Something?” If he still couldn’t afford it, how expensive could this thing be?
Meng Qing smiled, “More precisely, a place. Where I lived as a child.”
Yu Yi remembered him asking Nelson on Black Pearl Island if he hated Nora who abandoned him. She gently asked, “Is it related to your mother?”
Meng Qing scoffed and then shook his head, “No, I lived in an orphanage as a child.”
“Is that orphanage expensive?” Yu Yi asked.
Meng Qingdao said, “The orphanage itself is not expensive. I had already saved enough money, but when I returned with the savings, I discovered that the entire plot of land around the orphanage had been bought by real estate developers for commercial development. The orphanage would be demolished. If I want to buy the orphanage, I would have to buy the entire plot of land.” He smiled helplessly, “That would be a considerable sum of money.”
Yu Yi looked at him, thinking that the orphanage must be extremely important to him. His expression had been particularly solemn, as if remembering his own past.
“Was there someone very important to you in that orphanage?”
“There was… originally…” A flash of pain crossed his eyes, then he smiled slightly, turning to look at Yu Yi, “Interestingly, you share a surname with her.”
Yu Yi held his hand tighter. They had both lost important people and experienced hardships, but they had survived. And because they survived, they could meet each other – wasn’t that a kind of luck?
Meng Qing also gripped her hand more tightly. Some moments require no words, simply because their hearts were in sync.
From that night on, Yu Yi moved into the side courtyard.
Chapter 118: Yu Yi’s Spacetime (26)
In the following days, Yu Yi and Meng Qing completed several small to medium-sized tasks, which were relatively easy but only paid three to five thousand. Meng Qing gave her all the task rewards, but Yu Yi felt this was not sustainable.
One day, she discussed with Meng Qing, “We should take on higher-level tasks. After all, we both need a significant amount of money. We can clearly see higher-paying tasks, so why do we keep doing these small, unremarkable tasks?”
Meng Qing responded leisurely, “Tasks are endless. We can slowly accumulate money. Why rush?”
Yu Yi became anxious: “Didn’t you say that my time cannot differ too much from this spacetime’s progression, or else people around me might notice something unusual?”
Whether you want to prepare dowries for your sisters or bribe officials, you can use those funds.”
Yu Yi stubbornly replied, “Those are the funds you saved to buy land. I don’t want to use them.”
Meng Qing sighed helplessly, “I didn’t tell you this hoping you wouldn’t use the money.”
Before Yu Yi could say more, Liu Aunt called her from outside, “Young Mistress.”
Yu Yi walked to the outer room and asked, “Liu Aunt, what is it?”
“Young Mistress, Guard Guan has arrived.”
Yu Yi was somewhat surprised, then instructed, “Please tell Guard Guan I’ll be right there, and prepare a good pot of tea.”
Liu Aunt agreed and left. Yu Yi looked back at Meng Qing. Meng Qing said, “Go handle it. I’ll stay out of sight.”
Yu Yi nodded. She was afraid that Guan Yue might notice something if he interacted too much with Meng Qing. Guan Yue could be managed by her alone.
She entered the main hall and saw Guan Yue in casual attire, standing inside. She quickly invited him to sit and chat.
After some pleasantries, Liu Aunt brought hot tea. Guan Yue took a sip and put down his cup, saying, “I came today to inform Young Mistress that the two prisoners have been escorted to Long Province. They’ll arrive in Long City in two or three days.”
Yu Yi already knew this.
Guan Yue waved his hand and casually added, “By the way, something strange happened in the prison a few days ago. Has Young Mistress heard about it?”
Yu Yi was momentarily stunned, knowing he was referring to the incident where Meng Qing had dealt with the two prison guards, Peng Laosan and Sun You.
Guan Yue quickly collected his thoughts and said, “Indeed, there is a second matter.”
“I am willing to hear the details.”
“These past few days, I went to Xizhou Prefecture.”
Yu Yi’s heart tightened. Meng Qing claimed to be from Xizhou Prefecture, but it was all fabricated.
In this era with inconvenient transportation, a round trip to Xizhou Prefecture would take more than half a month by horse-drawn carriage. Guan Yue could be faster on horseback, but a round trip plus investigation time would take at least ten days. She didn’t expect Guan Yue would actually personally go to Xizhou to investigate his background.
She asked, feigning confusion, “May I ask if Captain Guan’s trip to Xizhou was official business or…”
Guan Yue said, “I took leave to go.” He was straightforward by nature. Although he could have used investigating the case as an excuse, he knew in his heart this was a personal matter, at least not directly related to the current case in the capital prefecture. So he took leave, which even displeased his superior.
Yu Yi had already noticed that Guan Yue was not wearing his usual captain’s uniform today, but instead wore a dark blue short jacket and black riding boots. Hearing him say this, could he have come directly here after returning from Xizhou Prefecture?
This meant Guan Yue already knew that Meng Qing was “untraceable” in Xizhou Prefecture and had come here directly.
Yu Yi knew she could no longer play dumb; doing so would arouse suspicion. But she was unwilling to speculate and said softly, “Please speak directly, Captain Guan.”
Guan Yue asked, “Is Young Master Meng still staying at Xiyi Manor?”
Yu Yi nodded.
Guan Yue said, “Young Master Meng claims to be from Xizhou Prefecture, from a silk business family, but I found no Meng family in the silk business in Xizhou Prefecture.”
Yu Yi was afraid of continuing this conversation here, worried that others might overhear and report to her mother. She said to Guan Yue, “Please follow me outside to talk.” Without waiting for his response, she stood and walked out.
After leaving the main hall, Yu Yi did not stop. She discreetly activated the intercom function on her bracelet, allowing Meng Qing to hear her conversation with Guan Yue. She only stopped when she reached the stream, which also gave her time to consider how to handle Guan Yue.
To avoid impropriety, Guan Yue stood far from her, about five or six steps away.
Yu Yi looked at Guan Yue and said, “I’m very grateful that Captain Guan inquired about my father’s case, but please stop investigating Young Master Meng’s background.”
Guan Yue was extremely surprised: “Why? Has Young Mistress Yu already learned about Young Master Meng’s origins?”
Yu Yi said calmly, “I do not wish to know.”
Guan Yue said, “Since he has concealed information from Young Mistress Yu, he must have something unspeakable…”
