Chapter 40: The Mysterious Map

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  Jiang Qingye thought that as soon as she spoke out, Qin Yang would be shocked and jump up, his expression should change at least a little, but what made her slightly disappointed was that Qin Yang seemed to have already known this news, still sitting steadily in the chair, smiling at her.

  Jiang Qing felt a little disappointed. Although she didn't take pride in being the descendant of Jiang Yi, at least her great-grandfather Jiang Yi was once a high-ranking official in the Qing government, so this man should have heard of him too.

  "Do you think I should be surprised?" Qin Yang asked with a hint of teasing, looking at the young green leaf standing in front of him.

  The green leaf was only stunned for a moment, and then it recovered its composure and sat back in the chair. Since it had already happened, she didn't need to worry about it anymore. If the man in front of her wanted to harm her, with his skills, she would probably be killed on the spot within three steps. Since he didn't intend to take action, at least for now, she was safe.

  Moreover, her intuition told her that this man in front of her didn't mean any harm.

  "Drink up, or it'll get cold!" Lifting her slender wrist, Qingye pushed the blue flower bowl towards Qin Yang's face, easing the awkward atmosphere between them while skillfully avoiding his question.

  Qin Yang couldn't help but praise her secretly: "What a clever woman!"

  The room fell silent, and the green leaves just sat quietly, staring at Qin Yang holding a bowl and eating with big mouthfuls. If you didn't know the inside story, you'd think the relationship between the two was very close.

  The wick of the oil lamp jumped from time to time, bringing the light in the room to be bright and dark.

  After swallowing the last mouthful of egg drop soup, Qin Yang put down his bowl and wiped his mouth, then turned to face Jing Qingye who had been watching him eat, and softly said thank you.

  After all, no matter what, the young green leaves sent soup in the middle of the night, no matter what the purpose was, this kind intention cannot be forgotten!

  Qin Yang put down his bowl, and Jian Qingye stood up and walked to the table, using a bamboo skewer on the table to adjust the wick of the oil lamp. The light in the room became a bit brighter.

  "Do you want to hear a story?" Qing Ye turned back and said to Qin Yang.

  "Alright!"

  The young green leaf leaned against the table, her body slightly tilted back, her hands placed behind her to support the edge of the table, her gaze seemed to be looking at some distant place, and her gentle voice led the two people into that story's world.

  "This is my mother's story!"

  The year the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing, my mother was in the mansion when suddenly a servant from our hometown, Yu Fu, rushed over, panting and telling her to quickly pack up, saying that the Eight-Power Allied Forces were about to enter the city.

  The only person in our old home who was good to my mother was Yu Fu, the others never treated her as a young lady, although she was the only granddaughter of Lao Jia Ren.

  At that time, my mother was also frightened and hurriedly asked where her father and grandfather were. Yu Fu told my mother that they had all followed the Empress Dowager from Xizhimen in western Beijing to Shanxi. She knew that the Empress Dowager was Cixi, and to be honest, my mother was very much against this woman who brought disaster to the country and its people, although my great-grandfather was very loyal to her, and my mother's luxurious life at that time was all thanks to her!

  "I heard that my grandfather and father have already escaped from the capital, but my mother knew they had abandoned her, abandoned this so-called young lady born to a slave servant. It turned out that in their hearts, she was always just an illegitimate child born of drunken lust!"

  At this point, Qing Ye's expression revealed a hint of desolation, but it immediately disappeared.

  Qin Yang quietly listened without interrupting!

  Fortunately, she didn't have many personal belongings, just a few pieces of gold and silver jewelry and some clothes that fit in a small bundle. Just as they were about to leave, she suddenly remembered something her father and grandfather had mentioned in hushed tones one time - there was something very important hidden away in the secret room. At the time, they had left in such a hurry that Mother thought it must have been left behind, so she went back into the secret room and retrieved the item!

  "What's important?" Qin Yang asked again. The green leaf's narrative had already piqued his curiosity.

  "A map, to be precise, a treasure map!" The sound of Qing Ye's voice was very calm, as if he wasn't talking about something worth a city, but rather a bunch of radishes that cost a copper coin at the market.

  "Oh!" Qin Yang also lost his energy, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

  As for the treasure map story, he had heard a lot about it and knew that most of them were just rumors. So when Gang Qingye mentioned that it was a treasure map, if not for her serious expression, Qin Yang would have suspected that she was playing with him.

  "Don't you believe me?" Jing Qingye saw the doubt on Qin Yang's face and asked, "Do you suspect I'm lying?"

  "There's something!" Qin Yang was very straightforward, directly saying it out loud. He was this kind of person, not liking to beat around the bush: "If you have this treasure map, why would you tell an outsider like me?"

  Jiang Qingye seemed to have guessed Qin Yang's thoughts, she grabbed her braid and pulled the hair tie at the end of it, her smooth silk hair suddenly lost its restraint and scattered behind Jiang Qingye, like a waterfall.

  Qin Yang cautiously took two steps back: "You, what do you want to do?"

  Looking at Qin Yang's expression of a sheep seeing a wolf, Qing Ye waved his hand and handed the hair tie in front of him: "Don't be nervous, the map is this hair tie, take a look yourself!"

  Qin Yang took over the letter with a mixture of trust and doubt, holding it in his hand for careful examination.

  Just now he didn't notice that it was a thin thing rolled up into a rope.

  Qin Yang unfolded it, and it turned out to be a two-foot-long, seven-inch-wide, almost transparent thing that was neither paper nor fabric. He stretched out his hand to touch it, and it felt extremely soft and smooth, but also very tough, like some kind of animal skin. On the map, red lines and dots were densely drawn, looking as if there was some sort of rule, but when he looked closely, he found no clue at all.

  After a while, Qin Yang still had no clue, he rolled it up and handed it to Gang Qingye. Gang Qingye was stunned, she didn't expect Qin Yang to not be tempted by the treasure map at all.

  "Why are you telling me this?" Qin Yang's gaze was very clear, without a hint of greed.

  Jiang Qingye didn't respond, but instead turned around and walked to the window, gazing at the moonlit night outside. She let out a sigh: "What's the point of me staying anyway? Besides, I don't want any connection with that family anymore. Just like this house I'm living in now, it's all earned by my own efforts."

  Today's events have made me realize that without a country, one can still preserve their family. You all appear to be upright soldiers, and I hope you will contribute your share of strength in resisting foreign humiliation. This is also my way of repaying the debt of gratitude for saving my life today!

  "No, I don't want it, you'd better keep it yourself!" Qin Yang waved his hands repeatedly.

  Seeing Qin Yang's repeated excuses, Jian Qingye picked up the treasure map he had thrown on the table and moved it towards the flame of the oil lamp.

  Qin Yang grasped her hand and hastily asked, "What are you doing?"

  "I've already taken it out, since you don't want it, what's the point of keeping it? Might as well burn it and be done with it!" Jing Qingye once again sent the treasure map towards the fire.

  Qin Yang snatched the map from her hand and stuffed it into his pocket: "Forget it, I'll take it, what a waste to burn it!"

  Jiang Qingye smiled and said: "If it were like this from the beginning, there wouldn't be any problem!"

  It wasn't until then that Qin Yang realized his left hand was still grasping Qing Ye's wrist, and he hastily let go.

  Jiang Qing's eyes flickered with a hint of abnormality, and he slightly lowered his head.

  Just then, the door was pushed open with a creak, and Daiyu also walked in carrying a large bowl.

  "Qin big brother, I made some food for you. You haven't eaten yet tonight, have you?!" Dai'er said happily, and when she looked up, she saw the two people standing by the bed.

  Qin Yang wasn't wearing an outer garment, while the freshly green leaves' long hair was scattered about, draped over his shoulders. The two people were very close, almost within arm's reach of each other.

  The faces of both people looked somewhat unnatural.

  Dai'er stood there with a bowl in her hands, staring at the two people, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but never did.

  Qin Yang knew things were going to go bad as soon as Dai Er burst in. Although he and Gang Qing Ye were innocent, it was the middle of the night and they were alone together, with Gang Qing Ye's hair still disheveled, making it impossible not to be misunderstood.

  "Dai'er, things aren't what you think they are!" Qin Yang hurriedly explained, but completely forgot that the more he explained, the more people would misunderstand.

  "You, you big pervert, big scoundrel, big cheat! I'll never believe you again!" Daisy said all the bad words she could think of. Qin Yang's actions really hurt her, and it was a pity that she still remembered Qin Yang hadn't eaten dinner and brought him food.

  Dai'er slammed the bowl on the table and ran out crying.

  Qin Yang stood in the house and didn't know what to do anymore!

  Jiang Qingye saw that Dai'er had misunderstood them and urged: "What are you standing there for, hurry up and chase!"

  Qin Yang suddenly understood and chased after him out of the yard.

  Watching the two people run out of the yard one after another, Qingye let out a sigh of relief, but in her heart there seemed to be a faint sense of loss.

  ……

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