Yi Qing was busy treating Sang Sang and had no time to think, but Xiao Jinghan kept ruminating on the matter.
Bai Yutang and Yuan Hecong had almost fallen into the water at the same time. Then Deng Xiao had rushed over, breaking what should have been the outcome, and that was when things took a turn.
Yi Qing thought she had misheard. Xiao Jinghan was such a proud man, yet he actually said sorry. She reached out and touched Xiao Jinghan's forehead. "You're not running a fever."
Xiao Jinghan pulled Yi Qing's hand to his lips. When he came in and saw Yi Qing almost stabbed, he felt as if he were about to die. He didn't want to experience that feeling ever again.
"What's wrong?" Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan suspiciously, thinking that anything out of the ordinary must be fishy.
"Nothing." Xiao Jinghan put his arm around Yi Qing's neck, and their foreheads touched.
Baozi peeked through the crack in the door and then sat at the door without going in. He had been really scared today. He decided that he must learn martial arts.
The boat didn't dock until dusk. Since Sang Sang was still unconscious, they didn't return to the general's mansion but stayed on the boat.
"How is Qing'er?" Di Shi saw Xiao Jinghan step onto the pier and staggered over.
"She's fine." Xiao Jinghan looked at Di Shi. "Her maid took a sword for her."
Only then did Di Shi cover her chest and let out a sigh of relief. She had treated Yi Qing badly before. If she were to lose her now, her guilt would never subside in this lifetime.
"Aunt..." Xiao Jinghan paused. "Mother-in-law, you should go back first." He changed his form of address.
Di Shi was shocked to hear Xiao Jinghan's new form of address. Then she became flustered. Did this mean that Qing'er also intended to recognize her?
"Can I go and see her?" Di Shi asked hopefully.
Xiao Jinghan shook his head. "Mother-in-law, you should go back first. After we've settled things here, we'll visit your mansion."
Di Shi nodded.
They ordered a feast and had dinner on the boat, planning to wait for Sang Sang to wake up before going back together.
"Where is Xue Miao'er?" Yi Qing wondered why she hadn't seen Xue Miao'er since she finished operating on Sang Sang.
"She's out burning incense." Baozi said seriously.
"Burning incense? It's not a festival. What's she burning incense for?" Yi Qing said as she walked onto the deck.
Xue Miao'er had set up an incense burner and a copper basin. There was a pile of paper ingots beside it. She was kneeling there, muttering something.
"Who are you burning paper money for?" Yi Qing watched Xue Miao'er's pious appearance.
"I'm bribing the ghost messengers." Xue Miao'er was startled by Yi Qing.
"Bribing the ghost messengers?" Yi Qing thought Xue Miao'er's train of thought was really strange.
"Yes. Money makes the mare go. If I bribe the ghost messengers, they won't come to take Sister Sang Sang's soul away, and Sister Sang Sang will be fine."
Yi Qing didn't expect such a thing. "What if the ghost messengers you meet aren't greedy for money?"
Hearing Yi Qing's words, Xue Miao'er's eyes immediately turned red.
"Alright, alright. All ghost messengers are greedy for money." Yi Qing wondered why Xue Miao'er, who was usually fearless, started crying after just one sentence.
"If it weren't for Sister Sang Sang today, I would have had to kill myself to atone for my sins." Xue Miao'er cried. "I really couldn't stop that man."
Only then did Yi Qing remember that after that man rushed onto the boat today, he had gone straight for her. Every time Xue Miao'er tried to block him, he just pushed her away without getting distracted to fight.
Could it be that the assassin's original target was her?
She hadn't offended anyone.
Just as she was thinking this, there was another noise outside. She got up and went to check. It was Deng Xiao. He had a sharp aura on him and a faint smell of blood.
"I've interrogated everyone. Those two boatmen were from Lu Tianxun's boat. They replaced the servants of the Yuan family on board, and the Yuan family servants who should have boarded the boat have been killed." Deng Xiao knew that this matter was extraordinary.
Xiao Jinghan looked solemn, twirling the cup in his hand. "Those two boatmen deliberately boarded Lu Tianxun's boat. Our trip to Yongcui Lake was a last-minute decision. Their original target shouldn't have been me."
"To be exact, it wasn't me." Yi Qing walked in.
Xiao Jinghan pulled Yi Qing's cushion closer to him, asking her to sit closer.
Yi Qing smiled at Xiao Jinghan's little gesture and knelt down. "It was so thrilling during the day that I forgot. I just remembered that the man's purpose after boarding the boat was to kill me."
Xiao Jinghan looked at Yi Qing nervously. He hadn't thought of this point. He had killed too many people, while Yi Qing had been in Lijia Village all the time. She shouldn't have offended anyone.
"Do you know why that man wanted to kill you?" Deng Xiao looked extremely solemn.
"The people I've offended shouldn't be able to get in touch with such a master. The most likely reason for them to want to kill me is that I'm in someone's way." Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan.
This dazzling diamond man didn't know how many infatuated women he had attracted. Ping Xinian was just an example.
"You mean someone wants to get close to General Xiao, so they have to get rid of you first?" Deng Xiao understood. Xiao Jinghan was really a troublemaker.
"I'm just guessing." Yi Qing stole a glance at Xiao Jinghan. She didn't want Xiao Jinghan to feel guilty, but this was indeed the most likely possibility.
"So the mastermind is probably a woman." Deng Xiao guessed.
"Not necessarily." Yi Qing wasn't sure. "How about the person you were asked to investigate before?"
"He's very cautious, but he's probably related to the spy." Deng Xiao was also troubled by this matter.
"What's going on?" Xiao Jinghan looked at Yi Qing.
"That peddler next to Bai Yutang and Yuan Hecong when they met in front of Qingyun Tower last time." Yi Qing explained.
"He's related to the spy?" Xiao Jinghan clenched his fist.
"Although he hasn't directly contacted any special people, his behavior is very suspicious. He has disguised himself and gone to the black market more than once, as if he's looking for something." Deng Xiao couldn't just say that the man was a spy just because he had been to the black market.
"Going to the black market?" Yi Qing thought of the incident where Lu Youming had taken the wrong medicine. Could it be that he was looking for Lu Youming?
"Yes. I've had people keeping an eye on him. You can rest assured." Deng Xiao comforted her.
"Aren't you Jinyiwei very good at handling things? Why don't you just arrest him and interrogate him?" Yi Qing thought it was troublesome.
"If he's really related to the spy, we can't tip them off. It's best to find their lair and arrest them all." Deng Xiao hated spies the most.
Those spies would stop at nothing and were very harmful.
"Tip them off..." Yi Qing thought that if you didn't stir the grass, how could you know where the snakes were? "I have a way."
"What?" Xiao Jinghan was worried that Yi Qing would take risks.
"Tip them off. We're not sure if it's a snake. Why don't we stir the grass and see?" There was a hint of coldness in Yi Qing's eyes.
She didn't care about the affairs of the court at all, but since they had come to her and hurt her people, this debt must be settled.
The emperor heard that Xiao Jinghan and the others had been assassinated and went through the secret passage to look for Xiao Jinghan. But Xiao Jinghan wasn't at home. He had no choice but to go back. He was constantly worried. If something happened to Xiao Jinghan now, the border would be even more unstable.
Sang Sang had a high fever all night. Fortunately, the fever subsided at dawn, and she woke up. Her life was saved. Only then did Yi Qing let people carry Sang Sang home.