The Superintendent's Gift

They seemed to be in a hurry; they were Dalang's colleagues. Could it be related to Dalang?

The gatekeeper, Old Zhang, bowed and nodded. "Please follow me, gentlemen."

Nangong Qianrou got up and, led by the gatekeeper Lao Zhang, passed through the front hall and came to the backyard. In the distance, she saw a child wearing a small cloth bag, who could only be described as cute, being led outside by a stunningly beautiful young woman in a long dress.

The little child pouted, reluctantly following along.

The two sides met face to face, and the girl stopped and stared in astonishment at the three Nightwatchers.

"The three gentlemen have something to discuss with the master," explained Old Zhang, the gatekeeper.

Xu Lingyue nodded reservedly, looked away, and pulled the little boy aside.

Xu Lingyin, with one hand held by her sister, raised the other, her short, stubby fingers pointing at Nangong Qianrou, and shouted:

"What a beautiful older sister, just as beautiful as Mom."

"Pretty sister?!" Nangong Qianrou, who had been expressionless, almost lost her composure, turning her head in disbelief to stare at Xu Lingyin, her eyes twitching uncontrollably.

Is this kid stupid? Are his eyes just for decoration?

He slightly raised his head, showing the child his Adam's apple. But the foolish child didn't understand at all, and kept shouting:

"Sister, you're just as beautiful as my mother."

She seemed to think that being as beautiful as her mother was a high compliment.

Nangong Qianrou turned and left. If anyone else had dared to call him a woman, they would have been badly injured, if not killed. But he, a dignified Jinluo, couldn't be bothered to argue with a child.

Xu Lingyue watched Nangong Qianrou and the other two walk away as they entered the hall.

"Why aren't you leaving, sister?" Xu Lingyin raised her small, palm-sized face.

"He's my brother's colleague. Let's go to the academy later," Xu Lingyue said softly, leading her younger sister back.

In the back hall, Xu Pingzhi, who had just finished eating, hurriedly got up and went to greet him, somewhat puzzled and apprehensive, clasping his hands in greeting. "Lord Jinluo."

Xu Pingzhi had never expected that a man of such high standing would grace the Xu Residence with his presence.

Given his noble status as a Golden Gong, even if Xu Qi'an were to thrive in the Nightwatchers's office, he would never stoop to the level of a mere Copper Gong.

Unless there is something extremely important.

This Jinluo is quite beautiful; from a distance, she could easily be mistaken for a woman, no less so than the androgynous Erlang. Xu Pingzhi thought to himself.

"Pretty sister."

The little boy followed Xu Lingyue back, stood at the threshold, and called out in a fawning manner.

"This kid is so annoying. You'll be crying later." Nangong Qianrou frowned, her heart sinking as she thought of Xu Qi'an's death.

His gaze swept past Xu Pingzhi and landed on the beautiful woman at the dining table. The child's words were not untrue; she was indeed a stunning woman.

"What brings you to my humble abode, Lord Jinluo?" Xu Pingzhi asked.

Nangong Qianrou withdrew her gaze, remained silent for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "Xu Qi'an, died in the line of duty in Yunzhou. I have come to deliver his condolence money."

As he spoke, he opened his palm, and the man behind him, with a silent expression, handed over the silver.

Nangong Qianrou then handed three hundred taels of silver to Xu Pingzhi, Xu Pingzhi refused to accept it. He stood there, frozen like a stone statue.

Even their gazes froze.

Xu Qi'an Qianrou's words, "Xu Qi'an died in the line of duty," seemed to explode in Xu Pingzhi's ears like a thunderclap, shattering his soul and tearing his heart apart.

In an instant, the whole world seemed to lose its color, my mind was filled with terrible news, and I felt utterly hopeless.

Xu Qi'an was his nephew, the orphan of his elder brother. He had raised him by his side for twenty years. How was he any different from his own son? No, he even loved him more than his own son.

Second Uncle Xu always felt a strong sense of responsibility towards Xu Qi'an because he was the only surviving member of his elder brother's lineage.

Raising him to adulthood, watching him marry and have children, and ensuring the continuation of the eldest son's lineage—this was Xu Pingzhi's greatest wish in life.

Now, this nephew is gone, just like that?

In a daze, Xu Pingzhi suddenly heard a thud. He turned around and saw that his wife had fainted.

"Sister, what does 'dying in the line of duty' mean?"

Xu Lingyin didn't understand. She looked up at Xu Lingyue beside her.

Xu Lingyue did not answer. She stood there blankly, like a lifeless paper flower, beautiful but pale.

Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, burst into tears. "To die in the line of duty means to perish!"

Nangong Qianrou sighed inwardly, placed the silver on the table, and said, "In three to five days, the remains will be sent back to the capital. You should prepare for the funeral in advance."

The urgent dispatch arrived in the capital before the remains were even found.

After saying that, Nangong Qianrou turned to leave.

You're lying!

A roar like that of a little lion came, Xu Lingyin blocked the way for the three night Nightwatchers, glaring fiercely at Nangong Qianrou.

A six-year-old child already knows what death is.

Nangong Qianrou ignored her and walked past Xu Lingyin, continuing to walk away. But Xu Lingyin wouldn't let him go, chasing after him and hitting him relentlessly, shouting, "You're lying! You're lying!"

The child's thinking was simple: as long as the liar was subdued and made to take back what he said, his older brother would come back.

Nangong Qianrou had no choice but to quicken her pace and leave the Xu Residence with the two gongs. After walking a long way, she looked back with concern.

The child persistently chased after them, standing alone at the door, crying loudly, his little body trembling uncontrollably.

Like a small animal that has been abandoned.

Nangong Qianrou suddenly felt a pang of regret. He should have waited a little longer, until the child went to school, before relaying the news of Xu Qi'an's death.

"Take her back and let her family take good care of her." Nangong Qianrou turned her head and instructed the gong-wielding man on the left.

"Yes."

At the Xu Residence, Xu Pingzhi carried his unconscious wife back to her room. He went to the front hall to look for his daughter, intending to offer some words of comfort, but Xu Lingyue sat silently at the table, her eyes vacant and motionless.

Second Uncle Xu slowly exhaled, summoned the gatekeeper Old Zhang, and said in a deep voice, "Send someone to the academy to tell Erlang the news and tell him to return home as soon as possible."

Old Zhang wiped away his tears, nodded, and left.

In fact, few of the servants in the manor know how to ride a horse. Regardless of the importance of the matter or the time constraints, it would be more reasonable for Xu Pingzhi to go to the Cloud Deer Academy himself.

Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, knew that the master could no longer ride a horse.

The journey from the capital to Clear Cloud Mountain takes two hours round trip, and even longer if the rider's horsemanship is not superb.

Xu Xinnian returned to the manor at noon, alone, leaving the servant who was supposed to deliver the message behind him.

He galloped to the gate, Xu Xinnian pulled on the reins, causing the horse to stop abruptly and rear up on its hind legs.

Before the horse's front hooves even touched the ground, Xu Xinnian had already dismounted, his face pale, and rushed into the house. As he crossed the threshold, he tripped and fell hard to the ground, breaking his forehead.

He was unaware of what was happening. He staggered to his feet and stumbled into the mansion. In the back hall, he saw his family, his mother weeping, and his sister with empty, lifeless eyes.

Of course, there was also Xu Lingyin, sitting alone on the steps outside the front hall, scribbling on the ground with a withered twig.

When the devastating news arrived, the adults were so immersed in grief that they ignored the child's feelings. Xu Lingyin dared not ask or speak, and could only sit alone on the steps, silent.

Xu Pingzhi's eyes reddened as he looked at him and whispered, "Erlang, your eldest brother... is gone."

Xu Xinnian swayed, and his vision blurred.

As noon approached, the sky darkened and a biting wind swept through. Then, a heavy snow began to fall.

This was the first snow after the spring festival, falling thick and fast. Before long, the snow covered the rooftops, the treetops, and the paths, and the whole world was draped in a thin layer of silver.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Garden.

The Crown Prince invited the Second Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Sixth Prince, and the three princesses to enjoy the snow at Qingji Pavilion.

The charcoal fire roared, and fine wine and delicacies were laid out on the table. The prince took a sip of wine and laughed:

"It only snowed once last year, and I thought we wouldn't see snow again until the end of the year. But unexpectedly, it snowed again right after the Spring Festival."

The Third Princess laughed and said, "I heard from the Warlock at the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy that the heavier the snowfall before spring, the better the autumn harvest will be. I wonder if that's true or not. Although this snow fell after the spring festival, it still arrived just before spring."

The Crown Prince smiled and nodded, then looked at the Fourth Prince and asked, "What's wrong with Huaiqing lately? She stays in her palace all day and doesn't come out. When we send people to find her to go out for drinks, she claims she's not feeling well."

The fourth prince shook his head silently. "I don't know."

Huaiqing hasn't appeared for a while. He used to occasionally get together with his brothers and sisters, but recently he's been closing himself off to visitors.

Although the Fourth Prince and Huaiqing were born of the same mother, Huaiqing's personality made it impossible for them to be close as siblings.

"Hmph, they must be too ashamed to show their faces because of my brilliance," Lin'an thought proudly, taking a sip of wine.

With the widespread popularity of Gomoku (Five in a Row), her fame in Lin'an also shook the capital. Under the dazzling light of this princess, the lowly Huaiqing naturally could only stay at home and dare not go out.

Thinking of this, Lin'an happily drank a few more sips, a blush creeping up her round face, her charming and amorous peach blossom eyes slightly dreamy.

The princes couldn't help but glance at her a few more times; having a younger sister who was both beautiful and talented was a very pleasing thing.

Well, the word "talent" is debatable, but her unparalleled beauty is certainly fitting.

In Xu Qi'an's mind, besides fitting the image of a nightclub queen, Biao Biao also resembled the kind of exceptionally beautiful but academically terrible girl in his class when he was young.

The kind of female student who frowns and scratches her head constantly when doing math problems.

However, because she is too beautiful and is adored by boys, she is disliked by other girls in the class, who secretly mutter "flashy slut."

Huaiqing, on the other hand, is a cool and aloof female academic genius, but because of her arrogant personality, she is not liked by girls. They secretly envy her. "Pfft, what's so great about her?"

The only difference between a cool, aloof female academic genius and a glamorous, academically challenged female student is this: the academic genius can completely dominate the other girls in the class, while the academically challenged female student can only pout angrily.

"This snow is an auspicious sign. Do you know about yesterday's urgent dispatch?" the Crown Prince changed the subject.

"The matter of Zhang Xingying quelling the rebellion in Yunzhou?" the Fourth Prince asked.

The Crown Prince nodded. "The Minister of Ministry of Works of the Qi faction colluded with the Witchcraft Cult to cultivate influence in Yunzhou; their intentions are despicable. Fortunately, Governor Zhang is exceptionally capable, saw through the conspiracy, and wiped out the rebels."

After a pause, the Crown Prince looked at his younger sister, Lin'an. "Xu Qi'an made a great contribution to this case and was posthumously awarded the title of Viscount of Changle County, which is well-deserved."

"Of course, Xu Qi'an is me."

Lin'an was initially pleased to hear her elder brother, the Crown Prince, praise Xu Qi'an, and instinctively wanted to show off. However, upon hearing the second half of the sentence, she suddenly froze.

"Brother Crown Prince, what... what did you say?"

That charming and amorous face, the sweet smile gradually froze, her peach blossom eyes widened slightly, but her expression became empty as she stared blankly at the Crown Prince.

"Oh, you don't know?" the Fourth Prince sighed.

"Xu Qi'an, the gong Xu Qi'an, died in the line of duty. What a pity, what a pity."

Bang! The wine glass shattered on the floor.

Everyone looked towards Lin'an.

Lin'an, completely unaware of her own lapse in composure, clutched the Crown Prince's sleeve tightly with her delicate, fair hands, her voice trembling with tears, "Crown Prince, please don't joke with me."

Her eyes held a glistening light and a pitiful plea.

The Crown Prince paused for a moment, his face suddenly darkening. He brushed away Lin'an's hand and said in a deep voice, "This matter is true. Father has already drafted an edict. Once the remains of the bronze gong are transported back to the capital, an edict will be issued to posthumously confer titles upon him."

"Lin'an, be mindful of your status."

The dignified princess of Dafeng was so distraught over the death of a subordinate. The Great Feng Prince simply assumed that Lin'an was being overly sentimental and didn't want to delve deeper into it.

Lin'an silently withdrew his hand, got up without a word, and walked into the vast snow.

"Lin'an, Lin'an!" The crown prince chased after her to the pavilion and shouted at her retreating figure.

The woman in red walked silently forward, snowflakes fluttering down and landing on her hair.

The crown prince turned to Lin'an's personal maid and roared, "Go and hold an umbrella for the princess!"

The palace maid, who had just picked up her umbrella and was about to chase after him, stopped upon hearing this, curtsied to the Crown Prince, opened her oil-paper umbrella, and hurried after him.

Inside the pavilion, the princes and princesses were still in a daze, their expressions blank.

On the other side, the palace maid whose buttocks Xu Qi'an had patted held an umbrella, cautiously observing Lin'an's profile, not daring to speak.

"What a pity," the palace maid sighed inwardly, referring to the man who had died in the line of duty.

Suddenly, she heard a soft sob, turned her head in surprise, and saw that Princess Lin'an was already in tears.

"Princess?!"

The palace maid cried out in a trembling voice, looking around in a panic. Fortunately, the snow was falling heavily and no one was around. She lowered her voice and asked, "Why are you crying? Is it... is it because of him?"

"I... I don't know."

Tears streamed down her face as Lin'an raised her hand and pressed it to her chest.

It's all empty here.

"It's snowing! I love snowy days. I should wait until the snow stops so I can have a snowball fight with my senior brothers, and we can build snowmen and snow horses."

In the warm tea room of Princess Huaiqing's residence, Chu Caiwei held a cup of tea, ate pastries, and gazed at the heavy snow outside the window.

She had shallow dimples and was enjoying a pleasant afternoon with hot tea, delicious pastries, and the sight of snow.

Princess Huaiqing wore a white palace dress, and although she was already immune to both heat and cold, she was wearing summer clothes that accentuated her figure.

She ignored her close friend's chatter, holding a book in her hand while staring blankly at the heavy snow.

"Princess Huaiqing, what's wrong with you? You've been so absent-minded these past few days." Chu Caiwei felt ignored and was very angry.

His dark, bright eyes reflected the pure white snowflakes as Huaiqing said softly, "Caiwei, I'm afraid the letter I wrote on your behalf will never reach you."

Chu Caiwei, oblivious to everything else, ate her pastries and asked, "Why?"

He died in the line of duty.

Chu Caiwei's hand trembled, and the pastry fell to the ground.

Star-Gazing Tower, Eight Trigrams Platform.

Chu Caiwei walked dejectedly up the steps to the top floor of the Star-Gazing Tower.

Snowflakes drifted down, and a thin layer of snow accumulated on the Eight Trigrams Platform. The supervisor sat cross-legged in front of the desk, and not a single snowflake fell within a three-foot radius.

Chu Caiwei stopped behind the supervisor, her voice choked with grievance, "Teacher..."

"From childhood to adulthood, whenever a senior brother bullied you, you would run to me crying to complain." The supervisor didn't turn around, but smiled and drank a cup of wine.

"No senior brother bullied me." Chu Caiwei pouted, then burst into tears. "Xu Qi'an is dead, Xu Qi'an is dead, I'm so sad."

The supervisor was silent for a moment, then turned his head to look south, seemingly intently observing something, before suddenly chuckling softly, "Good news."

Chu Caiwei cried even harder, stomping her feet and cursing between sobs. "You old geezer, you stinking old man, my friend is dead, and you still say it's a good thing? Why don't you just die yourself?"

"What did you say to the teacher? The teacher has lived for five hundred years, and he hasn't lived enough yet. He wants to borrow another five hundred years from heaven," the supervisor said angrily.

"Then, is what you just said something a teacher should say?" Chu Caiwei sobbed.

"If your master says it's good news, then it is." The supervisor asked, "Did you take the Rebirth Pill that your master gave you two years ago?"

"What kind of rebirth pill is this?" Chu Caiwei, wiping away her tears.

"The Rebirth Pill, only three Rebirth Pills can be refined in a year. That brat Emperor Yuanjing begged me for a Rebirth Pill, but I wouldn't give him one." The supervisor was even angrier.

"Oh, it's in my bag." Chu Caiwei said, sobbing, "I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. I don't need that thing anyway."

The supervisor nodded and smiled, "Remember, you gave the Rebirth Pill to Xu Qi'an."

"I don't."

"You gave it to me."

"I don't have it, it's in my bag."

"Shut up, you've already given it to them. If anyone asks you about it later, just say that."

"Oh!" Chu Caiwei cried again, "Teacher, Xu Qi'an is dead!"

She had a habit of coming to the supervisor to cry when she was sad, just like a child who would cry to their parents when they were wronged.

"You've only recently reached the sixth rank, so don't go out these days."

After Chu Caiwei left, the supervisor opened his palm, and a translucent orange-yellow pill lay quietly in his hand.

Then, the supervisor plucked a strand of white beard and gently exhaled.

The wisp of beard fluttered in the wind, rising higher and higher, until it suddenly swelled and transformed into a large white bird.

The large bird cried out mournfully, circled in the air for a moment, then swooped down and snatched the Rebirth Pill from the supervisor's hand.

Chu Caiwei returned to her room and rummaged through the small deerskin bag at her waist.

"Why did the teacher suddenly mention the Rebirth Pill to me, and even say that she gave it to Xu Qi'an?" She sobbed as she searched and searched, but couldn't find the Rebirth Pill anywhere.

"You trust Wei Yuan that much? You're willing to tell him all your secrets?"

In the dimly lit cabin, Yang Qianhuan sat cross-legged, his back to the coffin.

He knew after a moment's thought that the claim that Xu Qi'an was Wei Yuan's illegitimate son was unbelievable. Xu Qi'an was twenty years old, while Wei Yuan had been a eunuch in the palace for more than twenty years.

"I was just joking about 'dad,' you know what a joke is, right?" Xu Qi'an sighed as he lay in the coffin.

"Of course I trust him. Duke Wei has treated me well and is very willing to mentor me. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he has done me a great favor. But actually, I'm a little reluctant to tell him my secret."

"Why?"

"Well, Duke Wei is too deep a mind, impossible to fathom. You never know what he's thinking, and therefore you never know how he'll react if you tell him a secret."

"That's true. Wei Yuan, like my teacher, is a frighteningly deep and calculating person. Even a man like me, who holds the moon and plucks the stars from the sky, can't see through them," Yang Qianhuan said, puzzled.

"Then why are you willing to share these innermost thoughts with me?"

Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "Because Senior Brother Yang is a man with a pure and innocent heart."

Aside from his love of showing off, he doesn't care about anything else.

Yang Qianhuan nodded, then felt something was off about those words. "I just don't think it's a nice thing to say. Have you ever thought about leaving the capital? Anyway, you're already dead. The world is vast; you can go anywhere."

"But my family is all in the capital. Of course I want to go back if I can." Xu Qi'an sighed.

"I too have longed for the days of wandering the world in a green robe and sword. But no matter where you go, as long as you have a home you can return to anytime, you won't panic. But once I leave the capital, I may never be able to go back in this lifetime."

After spending some time together, perhaps out of boredom, the two started by joking around, but gradually began to share their true feelings.

"That's true. When I'm traveling, I feel at ease whenever I think of my fellow students at the Bureau of Astronomy and my teachers. It's not that I'm truly homeless; I'm just traveling." Yang Qianhuan nodded slightly.

Xu Qi'an said he would go back and consult Wei Yuan, but he was actually just giving Yang Qianhuan a perfunctory answer; in his heart, he was weighing the pros and cons of being honest.

Xu Qi'an knew that Wei Yuan was good to him. But after being honest, would Wei Yuan choose to reseal Shen Shu, or turn a blind eye? Without a point of reference, Xu Qi'an dared not take the risk.

After all, he's not Wei Yuan's biological son.

But he was reluctant to leave the capital, and was caught in a dilemma.

Furthermore, the monk Shenshu had asked him to keep his existence a secret. Xu Qi'an was unsure how the monk Shenshu would react if he told Wei Yuan the secret.

You can't believe a seemingly Gods and Devils master is a compassionate bodhisattva just because he always has a kind and gentle demeanor.

"Hey, Brother Yang, are you married?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"No," Yang Qianhuan shook her head. "Women are a burden; I don't need them."

Oh, I see. I wonder if you don't allow your wife to look at your face when you're having sex? If so, you only have two paths to choose from: one, become like the Second Sage of the Cloud Deer Academy and a man who always stands behind his wife; two, be a man with a warm heart.

As he thought about it, Xu Qi'an couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Just then, the cry of an unknown bird came from outside the ship, desolate and lonely, like the mournful cry of an owl.

Yang Qianhuan was taken aback at first, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's the teacher's aura!"

P. S.: I'll be returning to Beijing in the next chapter, so I'll update first and then revise. I'll fix the typos after I get home from get off work.