Chapter 33: Crows Cry at Night (Part 2)
Xu He Xue stumbled after a few steps, dizziness washing over him. He swayed out from under the umbrella. Ni Su instinctively reached out to steady him, but he shook his head. “No need.”
He leaned against the damp brick wall, taking a moment to regain his balance.
“We agreed you would be out in a short while,” she said.
She had waited for half an hour.
Xu He Xue stepped back under the umbrella. “Did Commander Zhou give you any trouble?”
“I was just drinking tea. Why would he give me trouble?” Ni Su asked, her gaze fixed ahead, the rain pattering against the umbrella.
After a moment of silence, Xu He Xue asked, “Are you angry?”
“No,” she replied.
But she barely spoke on the way back. Back at the clinic, she immediately lit more candles, ignoring her wet clothes and the basket she had been carrying.
Xu He Xue sat on the bed. Seeing her about to leave after lighting the candles, he called out, “Ni Su.”
She turned around.
Her continued silence made him uneasy. He stood up and walked over to her. “I was wrong,” he said.
Ni Su couldn’t ignore his sincere tone. She sighed, brushing her damp hair from her face. “Did you find anything at his residence?”
Her willingness to speak eased the tension in his shoulders. He nodded. “I obtained a ledger from his father-in-law.”
“You appeared before him?” Ni Su asked, surprised.
“He didn’t see me.”
Xu He Xue had been delayed because he had followed Master Qin to Du San Cai’s study. Master Qin had searched the study but found nothing. Finally, he had discovered a hidden compartment under his own bed, where he found a ledger.
Before he could examine it, a sword pressed against his neck. Terrified, he didn’t dare turn around or stand up. “Who’s there?” he had whispered, his body trembling.
The cold blade made him shudder. He didn’t know that the figure behind him was a ghost.
Despite Xu He Xue’s repeated questioning, he insisted he didn’t know Du San Cai’s whereabouts. Xu He Xue had then struck him unconscious and taken the ledger.
Ni Su nodded, then, hearing him cough, decided not to press him further. She fetched a clean robe from the cabinet and placed it beside his bed. “I’m not angry. If leaving my side doesn’t injure you, I can wait as long as you need.”
“Do you know what I was thinking while waiting at the tea stall?” she asked, looking up at him.
“What?”
“I was thinking,” she stood up straight, meeting his gaze, “I’m a physician, yet I can only watch you suffer. Perhaps you’re used to it, but it pains me to see it.”
Although she specialized in gynecology, she wasn’t ignorant of other ailments. With enough effort and study, she could offer hope to those who suffered.
But with him, she was helpless.
Xu He Xue was speechless, his pale lips parting slightly.
“Come and sit,” Ni Su said, gesturing to the bed.
He sat down beside her.
Ni Su took a sweet cake from the basket, broke it in half, and offered him a piece. “Do you know why I wanted to become a physician specializing in women’s ailments?”
“Because of your brother,” Xu He Xue said, taking a bite of the cake, still tasting nothing.
“Because of my brother, but also because of a woman,” Ni Su said, eating the cake. “I was very young then. The woman chased after my brother’s carriage, crying and begging him to save her. I saw the bloodstains on her dress, the trail of blood she left behind…”
“My brother couldn’t refuse and treated her, but she still died. She was driven to suicide by rumors and gossip.”
“My brother gave up medicine because of it. And I remembered that woman for many years. I often thought, if I hadn’t been so young, if I had been the one to treat her, she might not have died. And my brother wouldn’t have…”
Ni Su trailed off, clutching the cake, silent for a long moment, then looked up at him. “Xu Zi Ling, if I could, I would also save you, and ease your pain.”
Xu He Xue’s fingers curled, the rain drumming against his ears. He blinked, meeting her earnest gaze.
“But I can’t,” she said.
Xu He Xue had always known her kind heart, the heart that drove her to defy convention, to treat everyone with compassion, even a wandering spirit like him, offering him shelter, clothes, and even a sweet cake.
“So,” she said, “please be kind to yourself.”
This was the second time she had said those words today.
She smiled at him, and they sat together, listening to the rain.
“Alright,” he whispered.
The rain stopped in the latter half of the night, the wind howling. Ni Su dreamt of her brother, Ni Qinglan. He stood there, smiling at her, but saying nothing.
She woke up early and lay in bed, staring at the canopy. Hearing a commotion outside, she got up and dressed.
Steaming porridge and rice were set out on the kitchen table. The young man, dressed in a dark blue robe, sat on the porch, reading.
He looked up as she emerged from her room.
“What are you reading?” Ni Su asked, walking over.
“The ledger I found at the Du residence,” Xu He Xue said, standing up with his hand on a pillar. He hadn’t expected her to reach out and support him. The warmth of her hand against his wrist accentuated his coldness.
Her touch was a reminder of their difference, yet he couldn’t deny the comforting warmth of her fingers.
This wasn’t right.
“Let’s eat,” he said softly.
Ni Su released him and entered the kitchen. Seeing he hadn’t followed, she called out, “Will you eat with me?”
Xu He Xue put away the ledger and nodded. “Alright.”
“Sweet soup?” Ni Su looked at the table in surprise.
“I saw the recipe in Minister Meng’s cookbook and decided to try it,” he said, sitting down and watching her take a sip. “Is it too sweet?”
“Haven’t you tried it?” she asked, shaking her head, puzzled.
“No,” Xu He Xue lowered his gaze.
“Then let’s share,” she said, pouring some into another bowl for him. “Are you still in pain? I said I would learn to cook, but you’re not giving me a chance… are you afraid I’ll burn down the kitchen?”
“No,” Xu He Xue said, taking a sip under her watchful gaze.
“You must be thinking that,” she said. She wasn’t a natural cook. Even with Minister Meng’s cookbook, she was clumsy in the kitchen.
Xu He Xue was about to reply when his expression changed. “Ni Su, someone’s coming.”
Ni Su looked up and heard Chao Yi Song’s voice. “Miss Ni! Are you there?”
She immediately stood up and went to the front of the shop.
Chao Yi Song, sweating profusely, saw her emerge and said breathlessly, “Miss Ni, Director Han requests your presence at the Yin Ye Si.”
Ni Su’s heart leaped.
She knew what a summons at this time meant. Without hesitation, she ran towards the Di Qian Gate.
The morning mist was thick and damp. Ni Su arrived at the Yin Ye Si gate, breathless.
“Miss Ni, why… why are you running so fast?” Chao Yi Song, having barely caught his breath, watched as she ran up the steps.
He quickly followed, showing his token to the guards.
Han Qing and Zhou Ting hadn’t slept all night. But Zhou Ting, standing beside Han Qing, showed no signs of fatigue, while Han Qing kept rubbing his eyes.
“Ah, Miss Ni. Please, sit,” Han Qing said, gesturing for an officer to bring her tea. “You must know why I summoned you at this hour.”
“Director Han,” Ni Su said, putting aside the teacup without drinking. She stood up and bowed. “Have you found the culprit?”
“With Du Cong’s disappearance, the trail should have gone cold. But we still had the assassins. Although they were hired and didn’t know the details, their leader must know something.”
Han Qing took a sip of tea. “Last night, I had Zhou Ting raid their hideout. After a night of interrogation, their leader finally confessed.”
Ni Su remembered Zhou Ting mentioning raiding a tavern last night. It must have been the assassins’ hideout.
“But Miss Ni, I must warn you, you might not be able to afford to offend this person,” Han Qing said slowly, looking up at her.
“Who is it?” Ni Su asked, her voice trembling. “Who killed my brother?”
Han Qing remained silent. Zhou Ting spoke. “Wu Ji Kang, the son of Wu Dai, the Inspecting Grand Mentor and Military Governor of Nan Ling.”
“And this Wu Ji Kang’s sister is Imperial Concubine Wu,” Han Qing added, looking at her. “Miss Ni, perhaps you’re not aware, but since the Empress’s death, the Emperor hasn’t appointed a new Empress. Currently, Imperial Concubine Wu is his favorite.”
The Inspecting Grand Mentor, the Military Governor of Nan Ling, and Imperial Concubine Wu.
Ni Su understood the weight of these titles. “What do you mean by telling me this, Director?”
“Just a warning. This isn’t an ordinary person you’ve offended,” Han Qing put down his teacup. “If it weren’t for that Wu Ji Kang’s attempt on your life, which exposed him, we wouldn’t have found him.”
Ni Su now understood. Her and Xu Zi Ling’s suspicions had been correct. The person behind the winter examination case and the person who had framed her weren’t the same.
The former was meticulous, the latter clumsy.
But the former’s actions had been meant to protect the latter.
“What do you want, Director? Do you want me to give up?”
“I didn’t say that,” Han Qing raised an eyebrow. “I’m just asking if you’re afraid. You’ve only experienced a small taste of Young Master Wu’s methods. But the methods of the court are far more ruthless. They’re wolves. They can devour you whole.”
“Then let them devour me!” Ni Su met his gaze. “Just because of their status, should I be afraid and let my brother’s death go unpunished? Are you here to plead their case, Director?”
Zhou Ting frowned. “Miss Ni, be careful what you say…”
Han Qing, unfazed by her defiance, raised his hand to silence Zhou Ting and looked at Ni Su intently. “Aren’t you afraid of meeting the same fate as your brother? Your body left to rot in the wilderness, unclaimed? Wouldn’t that be pitiful?”
Ni Su’s eyes reddened, but her voice was clear. “I only want justice for my brother.”
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