The screams coming from Xi Qingyue's residence were clearly heard by Scholar Han and the others next door. They tried to rush over to check what was happening, but were stopped by Fang He.
Fang He smiled at Scholar Han and said, "Rest easy, those screams are coming from other people. The Commandery Princess and her companions are perfectly fine. If you head over now, whatever was happening would already be over, and you'd only disturb the Commandery Princess's rest. It's better to pay her a visit tomorrow morning."
Scholar Han thought that made sense, so he went back to his room to rest.
It wasn't just them who heard the screams—many people on the entire street caught the sound as well.
Curious, many residents stood in their courtyards, craning their necks to look in the direction of the noise, just in time to catch a dazzling white light shining from that spot.
Everyone was filled with curiosity about the strange light, but no one dared to step outside their doors to investigate. They all decided they would go ask for details first thing the next morning.
The following dawn, the city gates remained closed. Hanging right above the gate were several people—several black-clad assassins, their bodies covered all over in wounds.
Some townspeople who had come over to see if the city gates really were shut immediately spotted the half-dead figures dangling above them.
"Who are those people? What crime did they commit?" someone pointed up at the black-clad men, face full of confusion.
"No idea, but judging by their outfits, they look like assassins, all dressed in black."
"That's right, they don't look like good people at all. What decent person would dress like that?"
"Wait a second, I heard screams last night—sounds loud enough for the whole street to hear, coming right from where the Commandery Princess is staying. These people must have gone there to assassinate her."
The crowd chattered back and forth, and by chance, some of them had guessed the full truth.
The soldiers guarding the city gates were grinning proudly at that moment. All these townspeople were guessing blindly, but none of them knew as much as the guards did—they had watched Mu Jin lead her men to hang those black-clad assassins up there themselves.
A young child was so scared by the sight that he burst into wails, and the old man beside him quickly pulled the boy behind his back.
The old man couldn't help muttering, "I wonder how long they're going to leave them hanging. I'd better not bring the kid over here again."
Hearing that, one of the guarding soldiers smiled and spoke up, "Don't worry, tomorrow we'll move them to hang outside the city gates. The Commandery Princess said these killers were sent by Prince Kang, and we need to let Prince Kang's army see their end with their own eyes."
As soon as the townspeople heard the assassins were sent by Prince Kang, they all started cursing him in anger.
"Pah! How shameless. He's already plotting a rebellion, slandered the Commandery Princess for no reason, and now he's sneaking killers into the city to murder her. What a despicable, underhanded scoundrel."
"Enough cursing, let's hurry over to the yamen. We still have to go learn some martial arts moves to defend ourselves."
With that, everyone scattered in different directions.
They had all dragged their whole families along, unwilling to leave the town they had lived in for decades. For one thing, they were deeply attached to the place, and for another, it was all because of Xi Qingyue and her sister.
After all, having the two unruly, fearless young Commandery Princesses in the city was a huge benefit for ordinary folks like them. No one had to worry about being bullied and oppressed at will, and there was no better place for them to run to even if they left.
Now that they had the chance to learn a few self-defense moves from real experts, they were not going to let that opportunity slip away.
Rather than pinning all their hopes on Prince Kang's men being merciful and not running wild after breaking through the city gates, it was far safer to fight off the invaders themselves.
News of what happened at the city gates spread very quickly, as almost everyone was keeping a close eye on the situation there.
Early the next morning, Scholar Han headed to Xi Qingyue's residence, accompanied by his daughter Han Qingyou. Xi Qingyue welcomed them straight to her own courtyard, where she had already laid out a full table of delicious food and snacks.
Seeing the two approaching, she smiled and pointed to the stone table, her face lit up with bright grins. "Uncle Han, you two have come just in time. Come join us for a meal, we can talk about whatever you need to while we eat."
Scholar Han had not expected that she was about to have her meal right now. Knowing that she did not lack food and drinks these days, he nodded with a smile. "Yue'er, then we really will not stand on ceremony."
As he spoke, he pulled Han Qingyou over to the table, and added in a playful tone, "Qingyou, your Yue is treating us to a meal, you are in for a real treat today."
Han Qingyou curtsied gently towards Xi Qingyue with a smile. "Thank you, Yue!"
Xi Qingyue had not had much contact with Han Qingyou before, but she figured that a daughter raised by a man of Scholar Han's integrity could not be a bad person.
She took a closer look at Han Qingyou, who was around fourteen or fifteen years old, with a pretty and outstanding appearance. Though her clothes were plain, she carried herself with an extraordinary temperament, looking poised and graceful, clearly a well-educated and sensible young woman. No wonder that scummy dandy had taken a fancy to her on the road.
She nodded with a smile. "Sister Qingyou, sit down and have your meal first. Lan'er is still asleep, so it's just the few of us here. The food will get cold if we don't eat it soon."
The few of them started talking as they ate. After Scholar Han took a bite of a steamed bun, he asked about what had happened the previous night.
Xi Qingyue told him the identities and intentions of those men in full, including the fact that the black-clad assailants had once gone to Willow Village to poison and kill her mother.
Scholar Han was so shocked that the steamed bun in his hand fell onto the table, his face full of utter disbelief.
"She was poisoned to death? But how come no other injuries were found back then?" He was very confused about this point, since the village doctor had examined the body at that time.
Xi Qingyue shook her head. "They are martial arts experts, and they controlled their strength perfectly. They managed to disable my mother without leaving any visible injuries, which is why the village doctor could not spot anything wrong. They did that on purpose to avoid exposing their identities. Otherwise, even a casual palm strike from any of them would have been more than my mother could bear, and even all the villagers in Willow Village added together would not stand a chance against them."
Scholar Han still had many questions lingering in his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he asked about Xi Daniu's situation.
"Yue'er, Wen Liang and I have been close friends since we were little. I want to know if the rumors circulating in the capital are true, that he once lost his memory?"
He wanted to confirm what kind of person his old friend really was, to make sure he had not turned into a heartless brute who abandoned his wife and daughter the moment he got wealth and status. If that was the case, he would have to re-examine his own judgment in choosing friends.
Han Qingyou kept her head lowered, seemingly eating quietly, but her two ears were perked up the whole time. She was very curious about this matter too.
It was not just the two of them, the entire Willow Village was eager to know the truth, after all, Xi Daniu used to be a honest and dutiful man back then.
Xi Qingyue shook her head again when she heard his question. "He never lost his memory. He was fully awake the entire time. The one who actually lost her memory was Bai Ruoshu. He was completely conscious, he just simply did not want to come back home."
After that, Xi Qingyue told Scholar Han and Han Qingyou the full story of what had happened, starting from four years ago when Bai Ruoshu was kidnapped, all the way up to Duke Anguo and his associates being driven out of Xin'an City.
After listening to the whole account, Scholar Han was so furious that his face turned dark with rage. The good friend he had always thought highly of turned out to be a shameless scoundrel who abandoned his wife and daughter, and now he even tried to ruin the reputations of Xi Qingyue and her little sister. He was no less than a beast, and it was a good thing that he was chased out of the city. No one would want to claim a father like that.
And Prince Kang was even more inhumane than the several princes in the capital. A royal prince actually sent people to murder a defenseless woman, how utterly despicable that was.
Suddenly, he smacked the table and spoke sharply, "Yue'er, those people who came for you last night got exactly what they deserved. It's perfectly fine to hang their bodies at the city gate as a public warning, but make sure to post a proclamation that lays out clearly how Prince Kang sent assassins to kill you, and how he once ordered his men to murder your mother. The crimes he committed deserve to be known by every person under heaven—we are not going to cover up for him."
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. "Alright, I will follow your advice, Uncle Han. I will leave this matter entirely to you."
Scholar Han immediately stood up to head to the county yamen to handle this task, but then he paused as he thought of something and turned back. "Oh, right, Yue'er. Qingyou has studied a great many books under my guidance all these years. I brought her here because I hope she can teach you and Lan'er how to read and write. What do you think? You two have no worries about food and clothing now, but you are still young, and it will do you a world of good to learn more."
Xi Qingyue knew he was acting out of pure kindness, so she naturally would not turn him down. She nodded in agreement. "That's wonderful. Go take care of your business without worry, Uncle Han. Let Sister Qingyou stay at our place for the time being, that way it will be much more convenient for her to teach us our characters."
This arrangement was exactly what she wanted. Having a dedicated person to teach them literacy was a great thing, and since that person was a familiar face and a young woman, she would feel completely at ease leaving Han Qingyou to teach Lan'er reading and writing when she herself was not around.
That was how Han Qingyou came to stay at her residence. Xi Qingyue immediately had people tidy up a room for her, and prepared all the supplies she would need, including ink, brushes, paper, and inkstone.
