Chapter 240 - Chapter 240: 240. Struggling at Death’s Door (First Update)

Chapter 240: 240. Struggling at Death’s Door (First Update)

Translator: 549690339

On the day Situ Xie and Situ Yao left, Su Liang was ordered to see them off.

It was a grand event, but she treated it as a boring task. After seeing them off outside the city, she returned home. Situ Xie didn’t bother her after seeing her attitude that day.

Just as she sat down at home and hadn’t finished a cup of tea, she heard Qi Jun report that someone was looking for her.

It was Song Qi, the steward whom the former housekeeper of Ning Mansion had sent someone to search for in Jiaye City. He had first arrived at Xunyang City and had specifically come to visit Su Liang, the head of the household.

Indeed, as the old housekeeper had said, Song Qi’s appearance was ordinary and seemed older than Su Liang had imagined, with frosty hair at his temples but not ugly. Just by looking at Ning Jing and Ning Xinxin’s faces, one could tell that Ning Feng belonged to the category of handsome men, and Ning Qingqing, Ning Jing’s mother, was somewhat a fan of good looks.

“Have you seen Lian Shun?” Su Liang asked Song Qi.

Song Qi, who looked travel-worn but had very sharp eyes, nodded and said, “I saw General Lin, who escorted the envoy from Liang Country out of the capital city, outside the city. General Lin also saw me but it wasn’t convenient to talk at that time.”

“I have informed Lian Shun about your return to the Ning family,” Su Liang said, “Since you have come to see me, it means you are willing to return to the Ning family to help.”

“Yes,” Song Qi nodded, “I had to leave back then out of no choice. I prefer the Tea Garden to the Orange Garden.”

Su Liang smiled, “That’s good. But you’ve been away for many years and as soon as you return, I’m assigning you a heavy responsibility. I’m afraid people might not accept it. Since you’ve come to the capital city, stay here for now, manage the tea house here, get used to it, and let me see what you’re capable of. How does that sound?”

Song Qi nodded hastily, “Thank you, Head of the family!”

“Did your family come with you?” Su Liang asked. She had previously forgotten to ask Lian Shun about Song Qi’s family situation.

Upon hearing this, Song Qi’s expression turned somewhat desolate as he bitterly smiled and said, “After leaving the Ning family, I settled down and got married in Jiaye City, but my wife died of a difficult childbirth, leaving me a son. My son was weak and sickly, and despite seeking medical treatment, his condition didn’t improve. In just a few years, he followed his mother.”

Hearing Song Qi’s words, Su Liang sighed. This meant that he never married again afterward. No wonder he looked older than his peers. Perhaps it was because of the misfortunes he had encountered that had hit him hard.

In this era of scarce medical resources, maternal complications during childbirth and early child death were common.

“My family is gone, and I’m used to living alone without anyone to look after me. Now that I’m older, I don’t think about those things anymore.” Song Qi sighed slightly.

Remembering something, Su Liang changed the topic, “You’ve been living in Jiaye City for many years, do you know of a family with the surname Qiu? They run an Escort Agency.”

Song Qi was startled for a moment, then nodded, ‘Yes, Qiu family’s Zhenwei Escort Agency is quite famous in that area.”

“There’s a young master in the Qiu family , named Qiu Ming. He has an uncle named Qiu Jianren. Do you know them?” Su Liang asked.

Song Qi shook his head, “I know of Qiu Ming and have seen him before, but I haven’t dealt with him and can’t say that I know him. I’ve only heard of Qiu Jianren and haven’t seen him. It’s said that he left home for a woman many years ago. When I left Jiaye City this time, I heard that Qiu Ming had joined the army in the capital city.”

Su Liang calculated the timing, Qiu Ming’s incident happened when Song Qi was no longer in Jiaye City, and if he had been on the road all this time, he shouldn’t know what happened later.

Since Qiu Ming was identified as a spy, Duanmu Yi had already sent people south to capture Qiu family’s members and also sent people to investigate “Han Su” in the north.

However, up until now, there was no news. Su Liang suspected that Qiu family’s members had been dealt with by Qiu Jianren. As for “Han Su”, naturally, they couldn’t find much information.

Su Liang casually asked about Lin’s family.

“Lin’s family is doing well, but the mistress worries a lot about the eldest young master. However, she never stops him from venturing outside. As for the eldest young master joining the army, the master is supportive.” said Song Qi, “When they heard that I was leaving this time, they didn’t stop me, even specially prepared a banquet to see me off.”

Su Liang nodded, “That’s good.” Considering Lian Shun’s personality, his family must be harmonious.

She asked Qi Jun to call the main steward of Ning family in the capital city and instructed him to arrange for Song Qi to work as the manager of the Tea House in the capital. In half a month, he would visit her again.

With that, Song Qi left with the main steward.

After sending Song Qi away, Su Liang went up to the second floor of Yuanming Pavilion and picked up a book. Before she could even open it, she heard Qi Jun’s voice from downstairs, ‘Who are you?”

Su Liang frowned, opened the window and looked out, only to see a man in gray standing downstairs, confronted by Qi Jun. Because he had his back to her, Su Liang couldn’t see his face clearly.

“I have been ordered to deliver a letter to Miss Su Liang!” The man in gray spoke, revealing himself to be an elderly man.

“State clearly whose order you’re carrying out!” Qi Jun’s eyes were alert as he drew the long sword from his waist.

However, the man in gray didn’t say anything more, simply threw a letter down and turned away. With a few leaps, there was no trace of him.

Qi Jun chased after him for a few steps, heard Su Liang call him and turned back, picking up the letter from the ground, and handed it to Su Liang in Yuanming Pavilion.

Su Liang put on cloth gloves, opened the letter, and smelled a peculiar fragrance. It seemed to be a floral scent, but she had never encountered it before.

A thin sheet of paper, Su Liang unfolded it to see neatly written words, just one line, “I know your secret.”

The most common envelope and paper, without any signature.

Su Liang’s eyes narrowed! Her secret? Did they know she was a transmigrator? Or did they know that the “Ning Jing” around her before was impersonated by Gu Ling?

These two things were the biggest secrets about her. She had told the former only to Gu Ling, while the latter was known to Uncle Liang, Situ Xie, and Nian Jincheng.

However, with “Ning Jing”‘s death, even if the latter was exposed again, Su Liang had room to deny it.

Compared to that, if someone knew she was a transmigrator and greeted her in this way, the problem was even bigger.

Su Liang wondered, could there be other transmigrators as well? However, her life had always been low-key; the things related to her previous life had only been revealed in front of Gu Ling. What seemed mysterious to outsiders was her strong return after more than a year away from the capital city. And this indeed could be seen as one of the characteristics of a transmigrator…

Seeing Su Liang’s unusual expression, Qi Jun hastily asked, “Miss Su Liang, is everything alright?”

“What did the person who delivered the letter look like?” Su Liang’s expression returned to normal as she put away the letter.

Qi Jun thought for a moment and said, “He is probably in his fifties or sixties, with a plain appearance, small eyes, a flat nose, and thick lips. No distinctive features.”

Su Liang didn’t ask Qi Jun to chase after the man because she was worried about an accident.

As to who sent her this mysterious letter and what their intentions were, Su Liang had no clue. So she decided to keep it for now and wait until Gu Ling returned to discuss it.

By her calculations, he should have already met Nian Jincheng.

On the following day, Su Liang entered the palace to return some books she had finished reading, and borrowed another batch of new books from the Imperial Palace Library.

With the token given to her by Duanmu Yi, she could move around unimpeded, not needing to meet him in person.

As the library was located at the deepest part of the Imperial Garden, Su Liang walked through the garden with a box of books on her back, admiring the ancient trees, unique flowers, and peculiar grasses along the way. Whenever she saw something she liked, she would think about telling Gu Ling so they could plant it in their own garden.

While walking, she heard footsteps approaching, and coming face-to-face with the Sixth Princess Duanmu Qianqian.

The two had never directly interacted before. After Su Liang had paid her respect, she stepped aside to let Duanmu Qianqian pass first.

However, Duanmu Qianqian waved her hand and dismissed her servants, then approached Su Liang and stared at her intently.

Knowing that Duanmu Qianqian wanted to cause trouble, Su Liang calmly asked, “I’m not sure what the Sixth Princess has in mind?”

With a smile on her face, Duanmu Qianqian’s voice was soft and gentle. “My eldest brother and second brother were both harmed by you, weren’t they?”

Su Liang shook her head, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what the Sixth Princess is talking about.”

Leaning closer to Su Liang’s ear, Duanmu Qianqian whispered, “You’ve known my fourth brother for a long time, haven’t you? You’re his woman, right? Everything you do is to help him secure the crown prince’s position. Am I right?”

Su Liang’s expression remained unchanged, “The weather is very nice today.”

“Stop pretending to be ignorant, Su Liang. You’ve tricked my father into going round in circles. You must be very proud of yourself, right? Don’t think I know nothing!” Duanmu Qianqian sneered.

Su Liang nodded, “The Sixth Princess’s breath seems a little foul today.”

Duanmu Qianqian’s face stiffened, she snorted coldly before suddenly bending down to pull out the dagger hidden in Su Liang’s left calf.

However, Su Liang hadn’t brought a dagger into the palace. This was a requirement Duanmu Yi had given her when he gave her the token, not to bring any weapons into the palace.

Duanmu Qianqian’s expression changed, and she pulled a dagger from her sleeve.

There was no need for Su Liang to dodge, as Duanmu Qianqian stabbed the dagger into her own abdomen, then released it. She screamed in pain, fell to the ground, and shouted, “Help… Please, help!”

As for Su Liang, who was supposed to go along with Duanmu Qianqian’s act…

she looked expressionlessly at the clear blue sky, the cloudless weather. Apparently, today really was a nice day. But why were there always so many annoying people around trying to make one feel sick? They were so annoying. It could be seen that Empress Wan’s genes were pretty bad. Her children, one after another, were either foolish or evil.

If this was how Empress Dowager, Empress Wan, and the Wan family intended to deal with her, Su Liang could only admire Duanmu Qianqian’s courage to hurt herself so badly. Presumably, during the hunting trip, the Empress Dowager suddenly excused herself, claiming to be unwell, and sent someone to summon Su Liang to the palace for a similar purpose.

Up to now, the behavior of these people could only be described in one phrase:

struggling desperately…

If Duanmu Yi chose to believe Duanmu Qianqian, Su Liang wouldn’t be afraid either. Even if she were thrown into the Heavenly Prison, the prison-breaking Gu Ling would rescue her anyway. They could just run away together….