Chapter 343
Two hours later, the Qiu residence was finally cleared. Commander Dou and Magistrate Gao led their men away, as they needed to report to the imperial court.
Under the twilight, a cold wind began to blow, and snowflakes started to fall. Yang Shoucheng and Yang Xu returned, both chilled to the bone.
Qiu Zongxi looked at Yang Xu with concern. "How is it?"
"Grandpa Qiu, I'm not injured." Other than being tired and hungry, Yang Xu had sustained no injuries.
Ultimately, the desperate men brought by Qiu Feng were after wealth. No one was willing to fight to the death for Qiu Feng, otherwise, Yang Xu would not have been able to escape unscathed.
The maids brought out steaming hot meals. Everyone was tired and at this moment, they paid no heed to the rules of "no talking while eating or sleeping." They began to chat while eating.
Yang Shoucheng spoke first. "Uncle Qiu, I led my men to search Xiangwu County but found no trace of Qiu Feng. The guards from the Third Branch who were captured alive also have no idea of Qiu Feng's whereabouts."
The situation had been too chaotic at the time, and Qiu Feng had escaped amidst the confusion. He had likely made thorough preparations, so it was normal not to find him immediately.
"Does Qiu Feng have a grudge against the Third Branch?" Zhan Feiyu also looked at Qiu Zongxi inquiringly. If there were no grudges, why would Qiu Feng have harmed the Third Branch so severely?
Qiu Feng had gone on a killing spree in the Qiu residence. Although Zhan Feiyu and the others were unharmed, five soldiers from the garrison had died, and several servants and two guards in the Qiu family had also perished.
The most troublesome aspect was that the desperate men had fled into the homes of wealthy families in the county town to loot. Although Magistrate Gao had rushed over with constables to stop them, many people had still died.
Zhan Feiyu had heard from the constables at the time that the death toll was at least twenty, not including the injured.
Similarly, twenty to thirty of the desperate men had also died, bringing the total to nearly a hundred deaths, with even more injured. All of this was Qiu Feng's fault. Now that his whereabouts were unknown, the imperial court would naturally hold the Third Branch accountable.
Furthermore, Scholar Gu and the Yang family of the General's Mansion would not let the Third Branch off the hook. With Qiu Feng's order, Zhan Feiyu and Yang Xu, two half-grown children, were forced to draw their swords to defend themselves. This grievance would also be laid at the Third Branch's doorstep.
"Don't look at me. I know less than you do." Qiu Zongxi had not been involved in the Qiu family's affairs for many years, so it was normal for him not to understand Qiu Feng. When it came to investigating intelligence, the Imperial Dragon Guard was the best.
It was likely that without Qiu Feng, no one could have guessed his true intentions.
He Nuan had tidied up the study, and it was ready for use. Those desperate men had no interest in books, so the place had hardly been damaged.
"When Ah Sheng gets back, tell him to come over," Zhan Feiyu instructed He Nuan. They had been delayed all day and hadn't even had time to do their homework.
"A gentleman cherishes the virtuous and loves his kin; a petty man delights in his pleasures and profits from his gains. Thus, they will be remembered even after death." Zhan Feiyu softly recited the title, her right hand skillfully grinding ink.
By the time He Sheng returned from gathering information, it was already close to midnight. The Qiu residence was quiet, with only the guards on duty awake; everyone else had gone to sleep.
"Wait a moment," Zhan Feiyu said without looking up, her hand still writing. She only stood up to stretch her stiff body after finishing the last stroke.
At the round table, He Nuan poured some tea. "Miss, the water is warm. You can drink it in one go."
"Ah Sheng, sit down. What's the situation?" Zhan Feiyu gestured for He Sheng to sit down and reply. She also picked up her cup and took a small sip. Two braziers had been lit in the study, making it easy to get a dry throat.
He Nuan did not interrupt their conversation and went to tidy the desk.
After a while, Zhan Feiyu exclaimed in surprise. She put her cup back on the table. "You're saying Qiu Feng might have fled to the barbarians?"
"My subordinate has already spread the word. If Qiu Feng appears among the barbarians, the scouts there will send back the news." He Sheng's primary concern was Zhan Feiyu's safety, so he made arrangements before leaving to gather information.
Fortunately, the Imperial Dragon Guard had deployed many hidden sentries in Longyou Circuit since the beginning of the year. Although He Sheng couldn't immediately pursue the missing Qiu Feng, the news received that night indicated that Qiu Feng had likely fled to the barbarians.
"Then his killing spree in the Qiu residence during the day was to create chaos, and also a bargaining chip for defecting to the barbarians." Zhan Feiyu frowned in thought. This could explain the reason for Qiu Feng's rampage, but it also raised more mysteries. "Qiu Shao's only son has one son and one daughter. Qiu Jinyu is already dead, and Qiu Jingyuan will eventually be married off. If Qiu Feng continues to stay in the Third Branch, he will definitely be heavily relied upon."
Although the Qiu family's Third Branch had produced four scholars, three of whom had already achieved the rank of Juren, Qiu Jinyu, the eldest grandson, was a rare "triple winner" (Xiao San Yuan).
Previously, with Qiu Jinyu leading the way, Qiu Feng could only be a foil. All the connections and resources of the Third Branch were used to cultivate Qiu Jinyu. But now, it was Qiu Feng's opportunity.
The Qiu family's clan rules stated that the most capable person would hold the position. The head of the family was not limited to the direct lineage. This was why the ancestors of the Third Branch had died with regrets years ago. The Third Branch, from its ancestors, was originally the direct lineage. If they followed the rules of other noble families in the Daqing Dynasty, the position of family head would have continued to be passed down within the Third Branch.
However, later, Qiu Zongxi's branch proved to be more capable. The ancestors of the Third Branch failed in their struggle for the position of family head and became a collateral branch. For years, the Third Branch had been trying to regain the position of family head, but all attempts had failed.
Qiu Shao's full name should be Qiu Zongshao. However, Qiu Zongxi was of the same generation, only ten years younger and now in his fifties. Due to his disagreements with Qiu Zongxi, he had declared in anger that he was ashamed to be of the same generation as Qiu Zongxi and had abandoned the "Zong" generation. He signed all his letters as Qiu Shao.
At that time, Qiu Shao was only a teenage boy, full of spirit and ambition. He most disdained his cousin Qiu Zongxi, believing him to be a fame-seeker, and that all his talent was manufactured by the direct lineage using money and connections.
As a result, Qiu Shao had not succeeded all these years, and the Third Branch remained a collateral branch. The name Qiu Shao had become a joke, but out of respect for the Qiu family's reputation, no one dared to openly mock him.
He Sheng informed Zhan Feiyu of more precise information about the Third Branch. "Qiu Shao's eldest daughter is Qiu Feng's mother. Years later, she gave birth to his son, Qiu Tai."
This was also why Qiu Feng, his cousin, was almost thirty years old, while Qiu Jinyu and Qiu Jingyuan were only in their early teens. Qiu Tai could be considered Qiu Shao's late-born son. Fortunately, although his descendants were few, he at least had one son and one daughter, and later grandsons and granddaughters, and grandsons-in-law. Qiu Zongxi, on the other hand, had never married in his life, so Qiu Shao had won a round.
"Before Qiu Tai was born, Qiu Shao had adopted three sons from the clan. Unfortunately, all three sons were mediocre in their youth. It was good that among his grandsons, three had achieved the rank of Juren." He Sheng speculated that Qiu Tai was born later, otherwise Qiu Shao would have adopted more sons. To regain the position of family head, Qiu Shao had become obsessed.
Although the Third Branch's generation of grandsons had produced four scholars, the three grandsons who were Juren were all adopted. In terms of blood relation, Qiu Jinyu was Qiu Shao's eldest grandson and the heir that the Third Branch had painstakingly cultivated, the hope for taking over the position of family head in the future.
"Qiu Jinyu is a barbarian spy, and Qiu Shao is unaware?" Zhan Feiyu was unclear about what had gone wrong in the Third Branch, to the point where someone had replaced their eldest grandson with a barbarian spy right under Qiu Shao's nose.
The entire Third Branch, starting from the grandfather Qiu Shao, followed by his three adopted sons, then the current head of the Third Branch, Qiu Tai, and his eldest daughter Qiu Wenlan, who had returned home after her husband's death.
Among the grandsons, Qiu Jinyu and Qiu Jingyuan were the youngest. Most of the children of the three elder uncles had already married. The older cousins' children could already walk, while the younger cousins were about the same age as Qiu Jinyu and Qiu Jingyuan.
The Third Branch was a large family with dozens of people, and the complex relationships within it were difficult for Zhan Feiyu to untangle, let alone for the Imperial Dragon Guard to investigate.
He Sheng had not yet received specific intelligence, which was understandable. It involved barbarians, and Qiu Jinyu had likely been swapped as an infant. It had been thirteen years. Even if there were any clues back then, they had long since vanished with the passage of time, making it very difficult to investigate now.
However, the most likely suspects were a few people: First, Qiu Shao, the grandfather. He was the real power holder in the Third Branch, and whatever he wanted to do was easy.
Second, Qiu Tai and his wife. As Qiu Jinyu's parents, they couldn't possibly be unaware, or one of them might have been responsible, or both were involved.
Finally, there were the other members of the Third Branch. Due to conflicts of interest, the three adopted sons and their children, for the sake of the Third Branch's power and wealth, it was normal for them to have secretly taken action. Without Qiu Jinyu, they all had a chance to take over the Third Branch.
Even if Qiu Tai had more children, it would take at least ten years for them to grow up. This was their opportunity.
Similarly, this was also what puzzled Zhan Feiyu. Qiu Feng already had some power in the Third Branch. Once he was strong enough, regardless of who the heir of the Third Branch was, Qiu Feng could "hold the Son of Heaven to command the feudal lords." His defection to the barbarians at this time was truly baffling. "Unless he has a compelling reason to defect to the barbarians," Zhan Feiyu reviewed all the intelligence about the Qiu family's Third Branch in her mind.
After a long period of contemplation, Zhan Feiyu murmured, "In short, Qiu Feng could no longer stay in the Third Branch. To survive, he had to leave. It can even be said that he had no place to stand in the Daqing Dynasty, so he had to go to the barbarians."
"Miss, do you mean that Qiu Feng knew about Qiu Jinyu's barbarian identity?" He Sheng caught a hint of understanding. But such confidential information was already difficult for the Imperial Dragon Guard to uncover. Qiu Feng was, after all, a junior, and in terms of blood relation, he was an outsider. With such a secret identity for Qiu Jinyu, it was impossible for Qiu Feng to know.
Zhan Feiyu nodded and rubbed her temples. The fighting during the day and the homework at night had made her exhausted. Her temples were throbbing with pain. "Qiu Feng might have stumbled upon Qiu Jinyu's barbarian identity by chance, and even used it to extort benefits. With Qiu Jinyu's death, Qiu Feng feared that the Third Branch would settle accounts later, so he had no choice but to flee."
Hearing this, He Nuan couldn't help but interject, "If Qiu Jinyu's barbarian identity was known by someone in the Third Branch who colluded with the barbarians, and Qiu Feng knew this secret, if he fled to the barbarians, wouldn't he be walking into a tiger's den?"
If Qiu Jinyu was swapped by Qiu Shao, the grandfather, and Qiu Feng went to the barbarians now, if Qiu Shao had notified the barbarians, Qiu Feng's fate could be imagined.
"Then there's another possibility. The Third Branch didn't know about Qiu Jinyu's barbarian identity, which is why they vigorously cultivated him. But Qiu Feng knew. However, given Qiu Feng's age, he was only a teenager more than ten years ago. Therefore, the person controlling this matter might be his mother, Qiu Wenlan." Zhan Feiyu felt her thoughts becoming clearer. Of course, all of this was her conjecture, and it still needed the Imperial Dragon Guard to investigate and verify.
Qiu Wenlan, after her husband's death, returned to the Qiu family with her only son. She was more than ten years older than Qiu Tai and his wife. Coupled with her mother's early death, Qiu Wenlan was the true power holder in the inner courtyard of the Third Branch.
Qiu Tai's wife was a new bride who had entered the family less than two years ago and was young. The three elder sisters-in-law were adopted. Qiu Wenlan controlled the inner courtyard, so whatever she wanted to do, she could easily deceive everyone.
"My subordinate will immediately send people to investigate." He Sheng stood up. When he had sent people to investigate the Qiu family's Third Branch that day, Qiu Wenlan had been living as a widow in the Qiu family, keeping to herself and devoted to Buddhism. If it weren't for her son Qiu Feng, the Qiu family would have probably forgotten her existence. Therefore, the Imperial Dragon Guard had been careless in their investigation.
Zhan Feiyu nodded. "It's good to investigate. After all, she was the mistress of the inner courtyard more than ten years ago."