Chapter 333: His Confession 3
Qi Qingyao entered the hall and, in one glance, she saw Jiang Yeqian who was already seated and drinking tea. Si Jin was sitting opposite Jiang Yeqian, looking at him a little angrily.
Qi Qingyao smiled faintly and sat down, saying, “Head Grand Secretariat, you’ve graced us with your presence. I wonder what we can do for you.”
Jiang Yeqian got up. He only felt a semblance of calm after seeing that she was emaciated but not hurt. He had received news from Zhao Xin that morning that a carriage had entered the back gates of the Qi Residence at dawn. He had guessed at that time that Lu Yan had awakened and the group was rus.h.i.+ng back to the mansion so that he could recuperate. At the end of the day, he was the one who a.s.signed Na Lanjie to do this and Jiang Yeqian blamed himself a little for it. That was why he had made a trip here.
It was best not to tell the truth now, however. She asked him what he wanted and Jiang Yeqian replied dryly, “I just… came to see you.”
Qi Qingyao grabbed a bowl of tea from the side and said, “To see me? What’s there to see?”
Jiang Yeqian had a lot of things he wanted to say but he froze up instantly, unable to let out even a peep. He had never met such a blockhead of a woman. After contemplating for a long time, he finally said, “There’s something I wish to discuss with you, alone.”
Qi Qingyao asked indifferently, “What is it?”
Jiang Yeqian first looked toward Si Jin, and there was a spark in his eyes as he said, “All of you leave first. There’s something I want to discuss with her alone.”
Si Jin did not bother with Jiang Yeqian’s request and simply looked at Qi Qingyao. He waited for Qi Qingyao to nod before he obediently left. Steward Zhang and the others had also retreated some distance away.
Instantly, only the two of them were left in the hall.
The atmosphere was frigid.
Qi Qingyao poured herself a cup of tea leisurely. After taking a sip, she picked up some sunflower seeds from the plate, watching Jiang Yeqian silently.
Starting to get bored, she thought to herself why it was that whenever someone came looking for her, she always had to be the one to say something first.
Qi Qingyao put down the sunflower seeds and said in an annoyed tone, “You came all the way here looking for me. If you don’t have anything important to say, I would suspect that you’re up to something.” ‘That’s why you have something to say but aren’t saying it.’
Jiang Yeqian actually just came to see her but if he were to give that as his reason, she would not accept it anyway. So, he could only say, “I spent a fortune recently on some information.”
“What information?” Qi Qingyao asked lightly.
Jiang Yeqian half-closed his eyes. After thinking for a second, he then answered, “Information on… what happened to you four years ago in Qingzhou City. About who was the one who robbed your innocence.”
Qi Qingyao was slightly stunned but not particularly curious as to why he had gone and investigated this. The corners of her lips flickered. “Could the Head Grand Secretariat have come all the way here intending to resell the information to me?”
“…” Resell? How could she even think that?
Jiang Yeqian’s expression turned ghastly as he said, “I was thinking of giving it to you for free.”
“In that case, thank you,” said Qi Qingyao in a leisurely manner, her expression calm. Nevertheless, she was genuinely curious.
Jiang Yeqian said, “There’s nothing.”
It was Qi Qingyao’s turn to feel utterly confused. “What do you mean there’s nothing?”
Jiang Yeqian answered seriously, “The results from the Zhaixing Administration’s search came up with nothing.”
Qi Qingyao raised her voice all of a sudden, saying, “Found nothing? The Zhaixing Administration, the famous intelligence organization, actually doesn’t know who slept with this good-for-nothing Qi Qingyao four years ago! Looks like the Zhaixing Administration’s reputation is also good-for-nothing! ”
Her degrading comments on the Zhaixing Administration made Jiang Yeqian’s expression turn rather ugly. He said awkwardly, “The intelligence report says that Qi Qingyao disappeared four years ago after leaving her aunt’s house. You’re not some ugly woman, so there’s no reason for there to be no clues at all.”
Qi Qingyao said with a mocking sneer, “That’s right, I’m not ugly. How is it possible that the investigative capabilities of the Zhaixing Administration were still unable to find out who I slept with four years ago, it’s such a simple incident! The Zhaixing Administration is so d.a.m.n useless. I previously had a little admiration for them before, but that admiration is fed to the dogs.”
He could not tell her the truth but hearing her insult them left a bad taste in Jiang Yeqian’s mouth. Softly, he said, “You can’t say that either.”
“Then what am I supposed to say?” Qi Qingyao raised her brows and continued, “Could it be that the Zhaixing Administration did find something but they just don’t feel like telling you?”
Jiang Yeqian said nothing in response to her query.
He could not.
He could not reveal that he was the head of the Zhaixing Administration, so he could only maintain his silence.
Qi Qingyao was also quiet.
She was thinking about something.
If even the greatest intelligence organization in the mainland was unable to find anything, then it seemed that that incident from four years ago was definitely something big.
“You know how to get in touch with the Zhaixing Administration, yes? Tell me how!” Even though Qi Qingyao said this, she was afraid that he would not oblige. So she hurriedly took out a tael of silver from her bosom. “I’ll buy the information on the method of contacting the Zhaixing Administration.”
Jiang Yeqian did not accept the silver. He said, “Why do you want to contact the Zhaixing Administration?”
Qi Qingyao shrugged and placed the silver on the table to the side. She said, “For the same reason as you, of course. I want to buy information. Having someone run investigations for me would save me a lot of trouble.”
“What do you want to investigate?” Jiang Yeqian asked.
Qi Qingyao thought for a bit before answering, “I have nothing to look into yet. I just want a way to contact them, just in case. It’ll make things easier if there is something I want to look into in the future.”
Jiang Yeqian, “…”
So that was the case.
He briefly told her how to buy information from the Zhaixing Administration.
Qi Qingyao beamed with joy and stuffed a tael of silver in his arms.
“Since you’re done, you can leave now,” Qi Qingyao said.
Jiang Yeqian was stunned. “I gave you such a big piece of information and you won’t even invite me to stay for a drink?” he asked.
Qi Qingyao asked back coolly, “What did you give me? Was your information not fruitless? How was this even qualified as information?”
Jiang Yeqian replied sternly, “The lack of an outcome is an outcome nonetheless.”
“You’re really good at bulls.h.i.+tting.” Qi Qingyao stuck a finger into her ear and stared at him sharply. “Your Excellency, we’re not bound by anything. You’ve come to my house unannounced and have stayed for a long time. As you know, my house is being secretly watched by the many different gangs in Qingzhou City. If someone were to ask about our relations.h.i.+p and why you came looking for me, what am I supposed to answer?”
What did she mean by ‘how was she supposed to answer’? She could just say that they were… reaching this thought, Jiang Yeqian called out loudly, “Qi Qingyao.”
Qi Qingyao, “…???”
Jiang Yeqian, “I…”
He wanted to say, ‘I like you!’
However, when he reached that point, it felt as if something had glued his mouth together. He could not say it out no matter what.
Qi Qingyao looked at him as he hemmed and hawed, his eyes dodging her. She cradled her forehead helplessly. “All the comrades I’ve recently encountered are so bad at speaking, always stuttering and stumbling. What a pain in the b.a.l.l.s.”
Jiang Yeqian repeated blankly, “Pain in the…b.a.l.l.s.”
Qi Qingyao continued sighing. “I have b.a.l.l.s in my heart, and they hurt.”
Jiang Yeqian, “…”
“Is there anything else? If not, then I do not wish to disturb Your Excellency any longer…” Qi Qingyao was walking away as she said this. After opening the door, she called out to Steward Zhang who was standing beneath the lattice wall some distance away, “Steward Zhang, there’s no need for you to send off the guest.”
Having been chased out forcefully, Jiang Yeqian looked at the scenery outside the Qi Residence and gave a long sigh. After that, he returned to that restaurant.
Fourth floor.
Tan Xiangdie saw the man coming in somewhat dejectedly and calmly asked, “Why did you go looking for her today?”
“I couldn’t sit still, I wanted to see her,” Jiang Yeqian replied in a low voice.
Tan Xiangdie looked at him and said in an odd tone, “I say, if you like her, just confess. If you don’t, someone is going to s.n.a.t.c.h her away and when somebody does, I’ll be glad to see what you’ll do.”
Jiang Yeqian glanced at him. He did not answer him directly but changed the subject and said, “I received news that Li Ruoxuan will arrive in Qingzhou City tomorrow.”
Tan Xiangdie was shocked. “He’s really fast.”
Jiang Yeqian kept his expression in check and said, “In two days, important figures from the Eastern Ling, Southern Ming, and Western Zhou nations will also arrive one after another to investigate the murder case of a grand master level.”
“Things in Qingzhou City are about to get lively.” Tan Xiangdie snickered and added, “Going back to what I said, if you like her you best confess soon.”
Jiang Yeqian, “…”
Tan Xiangdie said softly, “If she finds out that you are the person who attempted an a.s.sa.s.sination on her in hope of luring Si Jin to intercept the attack, I think you can forget about your confession ever succeeding! So, before things get revealed, you best tell her soon!”
Jiang Yeqian, “…”