Chapter 118

When Dai Li returned to the Qin Manor, the moon had already hidden behind thick, heavy clouds. Without the bright moonlight, the sky looked as though it had been splashed with thick, unblendable ink, not letting a single trace of light seep through.

The heavy veil of the night mirrored Dai Li's current mood.

Her goal for tonight had been clear, and she had only visited three places in total. Furthermore, her stay at the Shang family's residence in the middle had been very brief, so returning to the manor now, it wasn't particularly late.

It was not yet midnight.

Dai Li did not head straight back to the main courtyard. Instead, weighed down by her thoughts, she rode her horse over to her son's courtyard.

She didn't go inside; she merely stopped at the entrance and looked in.

The night was deep, and everyone in the courtyard had already gone to rest. It was pitch black inside, making it impossible to see anything.

A cool breeze brushed past, sweeping up a few withered leaves. The wind was picking up. Qin Shaozong said, Madam, the night is deep and the dew is heavy. Let us go back.

Dai Li let out a soft, faint sigh. Tugging at the reins, she turned her horse around and headed back.

...

Nianxia and Bipo had been waiting in the main room all along. Seeing the two return, one hurried to boil water while the other fetched fresh clothes.

By the time Dai Li finally lay down on her bed, more than an hour had passed. Midnight had arrived. If there had been a moon outside the window, it would have begun its descent to the west by now.

Dai Li had never been one to stay up late, and she usually slept quite well. But tonight, lying on the bed, she kept her eyes closed for a long time without falling asleep.

She rolled over, changing her position.

Still unable to sleep, she continued tossing and turning, trying other positions.

Upon her fifth time rolling over, a long arm reached out from beside her, scooping her up along with her blanket. Madam, you have been tossing about like a pancake on a griddle. Whatever are you doing? Are you planning to catch the early morning market tomorrow?

The plain bed curtains were drawn, leaving the inside of the canopy in total darkness.

Dai Li couldn't see Qin Shaozong, but the warm breath constantly brushing against her ear made the man's presence exceedingly strong.

The late autumn in the North was piercingly cold. In such weather, Dai Li needed two blankets to feel warm, but Qin Shaozong was naturally hot-blooded and found two blankets stifling.

Eventually, they compromised: Dai Li wrapped herself in a small blanket, and then they shared a larger blanket over the both of them.

Now, caught off guard and pulled into his embrace, Dai Li was still rolled up in her small blanket. He held her tightly, pressing down on the corners of the blanket so she couldn't even free her hands.

Unable to free her hands, Dai Li could only say, Qin Changgeng, I don't think I will be able to sleep for a while. Why don't we sleep separately?

White Elephant was dead, but the words he spoke before dying were like a knife, stabbing fiercely at her heart. That unhealed wound was oozing venomous blood once again, burning her so much that she couldn't sleep.

Perfect. I can't sleep either. How about we have a little late-night chat, Madam? Qin Shaozong did not let go.

The moment she heard him mention a late-night chat, Dai Li naturally recalled what she had told him before they set out: Can we talk about this when we get back? Now, they were back...

Dai Li shrank her neck, burying the lower half of her face into the small blanket wrapped around her.

It was pitch black inside the bed curtains, but with her in his arms, how could Qin Shaozong fail to feel her little movements? Immediately, a vein throbbed on his forehead.

He suddenly felt that no matter how cunning White Elephant had been tonight, or how close he had come to escaping, it was nothing compared to how infuriating she was right now.

But he couldn't scold her, nor could he speak harshly to her.

Qin Shaozong took a deep breath. Just a few words about the Peach Blossom Spring. What do you say, Madam?

He would forever be curious about that place, and he would forever want to know everything concerning her.

Hearing him mention the Peach Blossom Spring, Dai Li hesitated before slowly poking her head out. She was indeed feeling miserable inside, and the infected blood oozing from her wound needed an outlet.

Dai Li asked him, What do you want to know?

Earlier, White Elephant said that Qin Yanzhou wanted to go to a place where everyone is equal. That must have been referring to the Peach Blossom Spring. In that place you came from, are all beings truly equal? His tone was thick with skepticism.

Dai Li pondered for a moment. How should I put it... Although social classes still exist, there are officials in charge of governance and ordinary people who just focus on their own lives, on the surface, everyone is the same. The commoners don't have to kneel when they see officials, nor do they have to refer to themselves as this humble commoner or this slave. The officials where I come from are called public servants of the people.

Those last few words struck Qin Shaozong as incredibly novel.

Public servants of the people?

They are officials, yet also servants.

However, Qin Shaozong quickly caught on to her other words. He mused, On the surface. That implies it isn't so in the shadows.

Dai Li: ...

Dai Li retorted with dissatisfaction, But it is still far better than here! Besides, everything is a process. Did iron tools exist from the very beginning? Taking a step further back, did bronze vessels just fall out of the sky out of nowhere? Didn't humanity first learn to use stones, and then learn to make fire? Then, step by step, they discovered natural copper ore, which eventually led to the smelting of bronze.

Qin Shaozong sighed in admiration, Heaven and Earth are the parents of all things; humanity is the soul of all things.

The corner of Dai Li's mouth twitched. She thought to herself that this man could truly never focus on the right point.

Take the essence and discard the dross. While I can't say the Peach Blossom Spring is perfect in every aspect, it genuinely ensures that every household has surplus food. You could say it has achieved tens of thousands of mansions to shelter all the poor scholars of the world, making them beam with joy. The threshold for education has also been lowered infinitely, and you can travel freely from one end of the world to the other.

A dark gleam flashed through Dai Li's eyes. Even marriage is about staying together if you get along, and parting ways if you don't. A man and a woman living together as husband and wife, if the woman feels the marriage can no longer continue, she can go to the government office to apply for a divorce and dissolve her marital ties with her husband. The same goes for the man. Both parties have this right.

...And in the Peach Blossom Spring, there is no such thing as the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers. Parents can only give their children advice; the final decision ultimately rests with the individual. Being so close to him, a steady stream of warmth radiated over to her, like having an electric blanket turned on to the perfect temperature. Dai Li comfortably narrowed her eyes.

Hearing this to the end, Qin Shaozong couldn't hold back a remark: Absurd.

Dai Li wasn't surprised by his reaction. What is absurd about it? Is blind marriage something to be proud of?

Qin Shaozong said in a deep voice, Marriage is not merely an affair between two people; it is a matter between two families. When two clans forge an alliance through marriage, it serves as both a support and an alliance for the future. If they later face life-or-death situations, or scenarios involving power struggles, this marital connection becomes a formidable support, perhaps even a lifesaving straw.

Dai Li sighed inwardly once again. The gap between her mindset and Qin Shaozong's was as wide as the Mariana Trench.

It wasn't just a difference in eras, but also a difference in social class. It was the meticulous calculation of someone who, having acquired privilege, deliberately sought to protect that privilege for the next generation.

From a macroscopic perspective, such things spanned across ancient and modern times and were not uncommon. After all, marriage alliances truly could concentrate, and even further expand, wealth and power.

But regarding the issue of parents having the absolute final say, Dai Li still had to refute him. Qin Changgeng, you have to understand that children who receive good guidance from their parents generally won't have terrible taste in partners. They won't end up falling for some unsavory character. But speaking solely of blind marriages, if you have absolutely no idea what kind of person the other party is before marrying them, and then you are thrown together to live your lives... not to mention the lack of mutual love, what if your living habits and values completely clash? Wouldn't you just become a resentful couple? You wouldn't even be able to treat each other with basic respect; you would just spend the rest of your lives tormenting each other. Why put yourselves through that?

I don't know which part of those words struck a nerve with Qin Shaozong, but he suddenly reacted strongly. The man had originally just been holding her, but now his arms tightened abruptly.

Dai Li felt as if she were entangled by a giant python, squeezed so hard through the quilt that it actually hurt a little.

The small quilt only wrapped around her hands, leaving her legs free. Dai Li immediately gave him a kick under the covers. "A gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Just because you can't out-argue me doesn't mean you can get physical."

This man was highly active and had a well-defined, muscular physique; his whole body was incredibly solid. Dai Li kicked him on the calf. She didn't know if it hurt him, but her own toes certainly throbbed from the impact.

Qin Shaozong was already lying on his side. Taking advantage of Dai Li's kick, he clamped his legs together, trapping her foot between his calves.

With her lower half immobilized and her hands trapped by the small quilt, Dai Li couldn't break free. "Qin Changgeng!"

"Did you choose your late husband yourself, Madam?" he suddenly asked.

Hearing the words "late husband," Dai Li thought for a moment that she had been careless earlier and accidentally let something slip.

She quickly sifted through her memories and realized she hadn't. From beginning to end, she had only ever told him that she and her husband had a conflict and separated because of it.

So right now, Qin Shaozong calling him her "late husband" was purely him being venomous and cursing the man.

Dai Li: "..."

"He is living perfectly fine somewhere else. Qin Changgeng, don't talk nonsense." Dai Li believed that since she and Zhouzhou could wake up somewhere else, perhaps... Qin Zheyu could too.

Qin Shaozong gritted his back teeth. "Defending him so fiercely... it seems he was."

"The general environment is different, what's so strange about that?" Dai Li continued. "Where I come from, if you have feelings for someone, you can pursue them. If the pursuit is successful, the two become a couple. In this relationship, both parties interact and compromise further, learning about each other's hobbies, living habits, and family backgrounds. Some couples even live together; all of this is preparation for eventual marriage."

Every word Dai Li spoke was like a bolt of lightning. In Qin Shaozong's understanding, lightning bolts struck one after another, the thunder deafening.

The dim darkness inside the bed curtain washed over his rarely exposed emotions like a tide.

After a long while, Dai Li finally heard him say:

"Utterly absurd!"

These words were crushed to pieces between his teeth before being squeezed out.

Dai Li couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Earlier it was "absurd," and now it was "utterly absurd." It seemed he had upgraded to the comparative degree—no, the superlative degree.

Dai Li snorted softly. "It's not absurd. Getting along before marriage is very important. If you find out you're not compatible, you can cut your losses in time and find someone else. It's good for both parties."

"There is no rain without clouds in the sky, and no marriage without a matchmaker on earth. Living together so rashly, how is this any different from an illicit affair without a matchmaker?" Qin Shaozong strongly disapproved.

The moment his phrase "illicit affair without a matchmaker" came out, Dai Li felt as if she could smell a decaying, suffocating stench of feudalism. His words left her dizzy and exasperated.

Dai Li grew furious listening to him, her tone becoming much heavier. "Marriage is solemn, how can it be treated as a game? A couple is just a couple; usually, they only raise children together after becoming husband and wife. Qin Changgeng, you and I grew up in different environments for over thirty years. I can't explain this to you clearly. I can't change your mindset, and similarly, you can't change mine."

After saying this, Dai Li used her free foot to kick him, pushing against his solid calf. "Let go."

Qin Shaozong didn't move. His breathing was rapid and heavy, as if a ball of roaring flames was churning and burning in his chest, only to be forcefully suppressed just as it was about to erupt.

Dai Li heard him take a deep breath and then slowly exhale.

After a long while, that heavy breathing gradually calmed down. "Fine, let's put that aside for now. Tell me about something else, Madam."

Since he had calmed down on his own, Dai Li didn't add fuel to the fire. After their brief argument, the pent-up frustration in her chest seemed to have dissipated a bit, so she asked casually, "What else do you want to hear?"

"Tell me about your late husband, Madam. How was his family background? Was he also in the military?" His tone was very calm, even a bit flat.

But the word "also" in his sentence made Dai Li's eyelids twitch.

Why was this man asking this? Was his competitive spirit acting up?

"The Peach Blossom Spring is very peaceful. At least the area where I lived hadn't seen war for decades. In such an environment where people live and work in peace, a hundred industries bloom, and every profession produces its own master. Therefore, many people don't take the military path," Dai Li said carefully.

As for his first question, she skipped it.

Qin Shaozong slightly raised an eyebrow and pressed further, "If he wasn't in the military, then what did he do?"

This man was getting to the bottom of things, acting as if he wouldn't rest tonight until he got an answer. Dai Li could only say, "Didn't I mention before that traveling from south to north, if you ride the iron-forged 'Quru,' you can make a round trip in a single day? He used to be responsible for driving that 'Quru'."

Qin Shaozong fell silent for a moment before suddenly dropping a meaningful sentence, "So he was a coachman."

Dai Li: "..."