Chapter 55. Qin Ji quickly thought about it in his mind…

Chapter 55. Qin Ji quickly thought about it in his mind…

Qin Ji quickly ran through his mind how to explain tonight's situation. Just as he was about to speak, he looked up and met the cat's eerie gaze.

Good heavens, although this little girl quickly helped Yan Hui'er change into dry clothes, she didn't listen to her at all when she was told to leave.

Qin Ji watched helplessly as the little maid took a dry cloth and pretended to dry Yan Hui'er's hair, while her wary gaze would occasionally drift in his direction.

Judging from her eyes, she not only had no intention of backing down, but also seemed intent on watching his every move.

In fact, cats do more than just stare at people.

“Miss, it’s already past midnight, and your husband is soaked to the bone. He might catch a cold. Why don’t you have me prepare a raincoat and an oil-paper umbrella so he can go back and rest for the night? We can talk about it tomorrow.” This sounded so considerate.

Qin Ji was almost amused and exasperated by the maid's audacity in openly trying to drive him away.

"No matter what, he is Yan Hui'er's fiancé, and he came all this way in the rain tonight... How can she be so indulgent towards her maid? How can she so presumptuously and casually drive him away?" Qin Ji turned his gaze to Xiao Yan Hui, his expression carrying a hint of grievance that he himself did not realize.

Qin Ji inwardly complained about Mao'er's audacity, little did he know that Mao'er was also inwardly complaining: "I've never seen Qin Langjun so impolite before! Even if the special circumstances allowed him to temporarily hide in the young lady's bedroom, now that all the bystanders have left and there seems to be no danger, why is he still staying in the young lady's room in the middle of the night?"

"Alright, stop glaring at each other." Qin Ji had already put on a cloak and her hair was half-dry, but she had no change of clothes underneath, and the dampness was still visible through the cloak.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but worry, after all, catching a cold these days was no joke: "Why don't we talk more tomorrow? It's not convenient for you to go back tonight with this weather. There are a few empty rooms to the east. Why don't you take a blanket and make do for the night?"

"I remember there's a newly made quilt that you haven't used, Miss. I'll go get it." Upon hearing this, Mao'er immediately stood up in surprise.

"No need. I'm physically strong from practicing martial arts, so this hot summer won't bother me. If you're worried, just have your maid make me some ginger soup. You probably won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't explain things clearly, so I'll get straight to the point and tell you the truth first."

After speaking, Qin Ji didn't move, and neither did the cat.

"Cat, go and make a bowl of ginger soup. I need to say a few words to Qin Langjun." Seeing that Cat was still glancing at Qin Ji, Xiao Yanhui couldn't help but gently push her: "Go quickly."

"Then please call me if you need anything, young lady." After hesitating for a moment, since his young lady had already given the order and set a time limit of only leaving him with a bowl of ginger soup, Cat retreated to the side room, looking back every few steps.

"Your little maid shouldn't be called Cat, she should be called Dog." Seeing that the person had finally left, Qin Ji couldn't help but complain a little to Xiao Yan Hui.

"Pfft!" Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh at these words, secretly marveling at his amusingly jealous expression.

"So am I still a piece of meat being guarded?" After making a lighthearted joke to lighten the unusually strange atmosphere of the evening, Xiao Yan asked, "Was that person coming for me tonight? How did you happen to be here?"

It was said to be a coincidence, but both of them knew perfectly well that Qin Ji's appearance, where he hadn't even had time to put on his outer robe, was hardly a coincidence.

He clearly received the news urgently and rushed to the Xiao family without even having time to put on his clothes.

Qin Ji naturally wouldn't say that he had always kept people around Xiao Yan Hui, but the nature of these people had changed from being used for surveillance and investigation to being used primarily for protection.

He had spent some time with Xiao Yan Hui and thought he knew her fairly well. If the secret guards' affairs were revealed, she would probably explode immediately.

However, he already had a solution.

"Did your uncle tell you about Tang Shisan?" Qin Ji asked knowingly.

“My father only mentioned it briefly, not in as much detail as I did. He only said that Uncle Tang Thirteen was a very important business partner of ours in Sichuan. He came here to discuss the cooperation between the three parties and to attend our wedding. Unexpectedly, he was killed by a hunter’s stray arrow halfway through the trip.”

That's all Xiao Yanhui knows, but since Qin Ji specifically mentioned Tang Shisan at this moment, it means that the matter is definitely not as simple as a mistaken killing.

"He was murdered! Was it the same killer who tried to kill me tonight?"

"Yes..." Regarding Tang Shisan's murder, Qin Ji told all the information that could be said openly, but he concealed the fact that there were people behind Tang Shisan, only saying that they were a group of madmen who had tried to spy on the salt refining formula but failed and were now looking for an opportunity to take revenge.

"I've always heard people say that the business world is like a battlefield, but I never imagined it would actually be that dangerous." After hearing Qin Ji say that the group had been eyeing the Qin family for a year, Xiao Yan sighed and then suddenly thought of something.

"No, Qin Ji, you tricked me! You've been lying to me all along!" In the dim light, a pair of beautiful eyes stared straight into Qin Ji's eyes. At this moment, Xiao Yan Hui was no longer the soft-spoken person she had been just now; her eyes were now gleaming with insight.

Qin Ji's heart skipped a beat. He almost used all his strength to suppress any change in his expression: "Why would Yan Hui'er suddenly say that I lied to her? What did she realize? What does she know?"

The situation tonight was so urgent that he had almost no time to think about anything else except saving people. Under such circumstances, it was not impossible for something to go wrong.

Qin Ji's forehead was damp with sweat; the tension he felt at this moment was almost as intense as when he saw the police signal fireworks earlier.

“A year ago, we encountered that thief on Mount Fuhu. Your appearance at that time was not accidental at all. You were chasing after him, weren’t you? And judging from the speed at which you ran over tonight and split that arrow, you clearly have martial arts skills. You were pretending to be that weak scholar back then!”

Recalling the feeling of being on the brink of death, and the goodwill she developed towards Qin Ji because of their shared ordeal, Xiao Yan felt that she had been made a fool of by him all along.

Thinking of this, anger gradually welled up in his eyes.

Hearing this question and seeing her growing anger, Qin Ji's tense nerves relaxed: "So this is what she realized was wrong."

"I admit I know some martial arts, and I did hide it from everyone at the time. I'm sorry." Qin Ji honestly admitted his mistake and apologized, then immediately offered his explanation.

"However, I didn't just hide my martial arts skills from you; I kept it a secret from everyone else. It was one of my trump cards. Back then, we were just strangers, so I had no reason to reveal my secrets to strangers, did I?"

The explanation sounded quite reasonable and well-founded.

"Yes, but after that..."

“There wasn’t a need to use my skills after that, so if I suddenly pulled a move on you out of nowhere, it would seem very strange, wouldn’t it? But tonight, because I needed to, I didn’t hide anything from you, did I?” Qin Ji said sincerely.

"Stop asking me if it's true or not!" Xiao Yan slammed her hand on the table next to her in a huff, as if every time Qin Ji asked if it was true or not, she only had one answer: "Yes."

"Yan Hui, I sincerely apologize to you."

Qin Ji seemed to want to pick up the teacup on the table next to him to formally offer tea as an apology, but he paused briefly when his hand touched the teacup. The movement was not obvious, but Xiao Yanhui, whose eyes were fixed on Qin Ji, still noticed it.

The cuffs of his sleeves, hidden beneath his cloak, were stained crimson with blood.

"You're injured!" Xiao Yan quickly got up and went over to him, temporarily setting aside any past grievances, and swiftly but carefully grabbed his hand.

Sure enough, there was a deep cut on his palm, and blood was still seeping out, staining the cuffs of his white undershirt red.

Seeing the wound on his palm, Xiao Yan felt a surge of guilt.

When I first saw the ghost rushing towards me, I clearly perceived that it was dripping blood. But after I learned that it wasn't a ghost but Qin Ji, I completely ignored it and just took the bloodstains as a hallucination caused by fear.

"Sit still, I'll go get the medicine." After glaring at him, Xiao Yan turned around and went to the cabinet to get the commonly used medicine.

Don't think she didn't know that Qin Ji was just deliberately playing the victim. She only let it go because his explanation seemed reasonable enough.

Watching Xiao Yan's retreating figure, Qin Ji's emotions were incredibly complex and unpredictable.

For a fleeting moment, he hesitated about whether to reveal everything.

But... he wasn't sure, not sure that being honest about everything would allow him to perfectly handle the subsequent changes.

"Salt refining, assassination, and your martial arts skills are not as simple as you say, are they? Is it related to Prince Cheng?" Xiao Yan's voice rang out again in the dim and quiet room.

"Clink." The tea lid was flipped over by her fingertips, making a crisp clinking sound. Qin Ji suddenly looked up, her eyes fixed on Xiao Yan's back as she half-squatted in front of the cabinet, rummaging through things.

"Is she testing me? Has she already realized that there's some connection between Qin Ji's and Prince Cheng's identities?"

So, should he confess everything? Qin Ji rarely felt so hesitant.

Qin Ji recalled that when he learned that Xiao Yan was also a time traveler, out of a little bit of nostalgia for his past self and a little bit of affection for her, he temporarily gave up the risk of eliminating her.

His primary purpose in proposing marriage was to keep the person under his control and manage the risks. Of course, he wouldn't hesitate to use her if there were any opportunities to exploit her, and he wouldn't hesitate to act ruthlessly if the risks became uncontrollable.

That's exactly what he thought at the time, as if everything was under his control.

Therefore, Qin Ji had not considered the issue of identity at that time.

He naturally assumed that he should keep everything a secret, unless the woman was valuable enough and capable of becoming his confidante, in which case he might be able to recruit her to work for him.

Qin Ji wasn't stupid; he knew, of course, that his feelings for Xiao Yan Hui had changed. And all that arrogance and conceit from back then had now become traps that left him in a dilemma.

“Not only are you making white gloves for Prince Cheng, you’re also making black gloves for him, aren’t you?” Xiao Yan’s voice rang out again.

"Don't you transmigrated men all dream of stirring up trouble? But aren't you afraid that the power struggles between those princes will leave us small merchants as cannon fodder, with nothing left but ashes?" Xiao Yan turned around, holding the medicine, her face showing a mixture of understanding and worry.

Qin Ji's tense body relaxed: "Fortunately... she only guessed this far."

"The relationship between the Qin family and Prince Cheng is inseparable, leaving no room for choice. I will explain these matters to you in detail later."

Obediently following Xiao Yan's instructions, Qin Ji opened his hands with palms up, feeling her hand supporting the back of his hand; her palm was soft and slightly cool. Qin Ji's hand trembled involuntarily, then stood there stiffly like a wooden stake.

Her body froze, but her mind started working at lightning speed as if in a compensatory reaction: "You said that transmigrated men like to stir up trouble, but in novels, transmigrated women specifically choose to marry emperors, princes, and generals. So, Yan Hui'er, when you first transmigrated, did you ever think about marrying a prince or a duke, or even becoming an empress for fun?"

The tone was entirely joking and teasing.

But the joke still seemed a bit contrived; it wasn't something Qin Ji would normally say.

Qin Ji, preoccupied with testing Xiao Yan Hui's reaction to marrying into the royal family, lost his composure, while Xiao Yan Hui had a completely different idea in mind.

"Qin Ji, you're acting strange tonight?" A suspicious gaze fell on his face: "You're not planning a 'rebellion,' are you?"

She didn't utter the words "rebellion" aloud, only mouthed the words. She really felt that Qin Ji was acting strangely tonight. He didn't seem like the type to make jokes like this, but if it wasn't a joke, then the meaning was rather frightening.

For a merchant to ascend the throne, especially during a relatively stable dynasty, Qin Ji doesn't seem like such a madman.

"No, how could that be? I was just asking casually, following what you said." Seeing her expression, Qin Ji quickly denied it.

But he felt a dull ache in his chest, probably from being angered by Xiao Yan Hui. She was really not smart when she should be, and incredibly perceptive when she shouldn't be.

No!

"What?"

I said I never thought about marrying a prince or nobleman.

Adapting to this ancient society is difficult enough as it is, and I have no interest in competing for favor with others. Someone like me wouldn't survive three episodes in a palace drama, so I'm not going to put myself through that.

"According to the typical time-travel trope, shouldn't you believe in your own charm, and that whoever meets you will be your lifelong partner? Maybe there's even a member of royalty crying and begging to be with you for life," Qin Ji continued to probe.

"Hahaha!" Hearing Qin Ji's words, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle softly: "I didn't realize that you were even more unrealistic than me, Qin Ji."

When I first arrived, all I thought about was marrying someone easy to control. If things went well, great; if not, I could just get a divorce. The Xiao family would give me a large dowry anyway, so I'd have money and free time. If I felt like it, I could tinker with some trivial inventions, or open a shop with a blend of ancient and modern styles from our era to while away the time. Life would be wonderful.”

Looking at the person smiling sweetly in front of him, Qin Ji also smiled, though his heart was filled with bitterness.

Although those words were spoken in a joking tone, Qin Ji understood the implication: Yan Hui was completely averse to marrying princes and noblemen, and she also subtly warned that if she was not satisfied after marriage, she could live happily after divorce.

"Alright, it's bandaged up." Looking at Qin Ji's hand, which was now bandaged, Xiao Yan Hui thought that although it looked a bit like a pig's trotter at first glance, the bow on the trotter was tied so beautifully that she was quite satisfied with her work.

"Thank you. Don't worry, Yan Hui, I've also arranged for people outside. The assassin tonight should have been intercepted by now. As for your place, I'll send my guards over until things are completely resolved."

"Secret guards? They'll be watching my every move?"

“They know their limits. They’ll leave once the matter is resolved. Only those people will be keeping watch in the shadows for now. Your safety is guaranteed, and I can feel more at ease, okay?” Qin Ji asked with concern in his eyes.

Looking at the worried yet tender expression on the person's face, Xiao Yan found herself almost unable to refuse, and in the end, she could only agree.

"Very good, the matter of secretly arranging the hidden guards has now been brought to light." Seeing Xiao Yan's response, Qin Ji's lips curled slightly from the shadows.

"Miss, the ginger soup is ready." Along with the approaching footsteps, came the cat's voice, which it deliberately kept low in the dead of night.

Qin Ji's lips, which had just lifted, fell back down. How did this little maid come back so quickly?

......

Outside the Xiao residence, Qin Ji's face was no longer relaxed as before. His expression was cold, and his eyes were filled with icy rage: "So many of you are here, yet you can't even leave one alive? Now you're telling me you're just letting him commit suicide like this?"

The guards in the rain knelt upright, not daring to breathe loudly, looking like silent, cold tombstones from afar.