Chapter 5- The Raven
Qiu Chen called for Xiao Li at the thought of having some fun. "Call Butler Wang for Ben Fei."
After a few minutes Butler Wang came in front of Qiu Chen. He saw Qiu Chen was half lying on the couch with his eyes closed, resting his head on his hand. He looked so soft and elegant that it gave Butler Wang an illusion that what happened in the study in the noon was not real.
Qiu Chen, when he detected Butler Wang coming, activated the charm again. He opened his eyes. Song Ruzhen had a pair of fox eyes. So when Qiu Chen opened the eyes and the rays of the sun that was already on its chariot running towards the horizon fell on them, it created an illusion that those eyes could make any man to fall to their death just by casting a glance at them. Well, it was for ordinary people. To Butler Wang those eyes seemed like the representation of the Grim Ripper. His heart came up to his throat out of fear. He didn't dare look at Qiu Chen.
Qiu Chen looked at Xiao Li. Xiao Li understood his meaning. She went out of the room and closed the door on her way. Qiu Chen looked back at Butler Wang.
"What hour is this Butler Wang?" Qiu Chen asked in a low voice. Anyone who would hear him, wouldn't find anything abnormal. But Butler Wang was different. He was almost scared dumb.
"To return to Wangfei, it's almost the You* hour," Butler Wang replied trying not to stutter. (*5-7 pm)
"When I was telling you to think about your punishment, what time was it?" Qiu Chen asked again.
"It....it was......it was al...almost W...Wei* hour," Butler Wang couldn't help but stutter at this point. (*1-3 pm)
"Two shichen*. Are two shichen enough for you to think about it? What did you come up with?" Qiu Chen said as he looked down at the butler's knees which were trembling slightly. It made Qiu Chen smile sweetly, like he was watching some great show. Butler Wang was scared even more. He could not come up with any idea. (*Ancient time system in China, each 24 hours were divided into twelve sections, each two hours and were called shichen)
Having enough fun by scaring Butler Wang, Qiu Chen thought of being a "good man" and "help" the butler come up with an idea.
"Since the butler is an elder and watched Wangye grow up, Ben Fei should help Butler Wang think, shouldn't he?" Qiu Chen's words made Butler Wang so scared that his thick robes showed traces of sweat leaking out.
"Death? I don't think Butler Wang has the face to meet Gui Fei down in the underground." Qiu Chen sounded like he was thinking hard. But his words fabricated a picture in the butler's heart. He saw that he was in the underworld, Gui Fei standing before him and asking him why he betrayed her and her son. Butler Wang fell on his knees hard, but he couldn't feel any pain. Qiu Chen saw it with the corner of his eyes. He then looked outside through the window as he continued speaking.
"How about giving you a chance to repent? Butler Wang, do you agree?" Qiu Chen asked.
Butler Wang thought he heard wrong. But he still replied hurriedly, "This slave is a great sinner. He would anything to reduce his burden of sin. Wangfei, please show this slave the way."
"Resume your works like nothing happened and we don't know anything. The thing you were doing for them, now do for us. I want to know everything that is happening on the other side." Qiu Chen spoke, still looking outside.
Butler Wang bent down his spine and saluted Qiu Chen with his forehead touching the ground.
"This slave thanks Wangfei for giving a chance to him. I will die to live up to Wangfei's expectation," Butler Wang swore.
Qiu Chen did not reply but looked at the sun. It was still quite early before the sun would set. He looked at Buler Wang who still had his head down on the floor.
"Someone" Qiu Chen called "Prepare tea and some snacks for Ben Fei. Go and work." The last sentence was for the butler. Butler Wang stood up and left. By agreeing to be a double agent, he knew that he actually signed a death agreement. But he had no regret.
When the sun was about to set, Xiao San returned. He looked different than usual in a noble man's outfit. He entered the room and saluted Qiu Chen.
"Speak," Qiu Chen spoke.
"There are a few rumors about you and Wangye are going on outside." Xiao San started reporting, "The first rumor is about your marriage. It says that the marriage shows that His Majesty is not happy with Wangye, so this marriage was made. Actually it was not very heated topic a few days ago, but suddenly accelerated. Second one is that, Song family's two gers are totally opposite of each other. One is virtuous, noble, easy-going while the other is ignorant, illiterate and unfilial; so unfilial that after climbing a higher marriage than his status he's breaking away from family and making the family pay an inhumane level of dowry. But another rumor opposite of this is also there though that is not as famous of this one. It says that the Duke Song is so greedy that he confiscated his deceased concubine's dowry which originally belongs to his married son. But the other rumor his more well spread." Xiao San stopped talking. But he looked hesitated as if he wanted to say something but was afraid of saying.
"Finish your report," Qiu Chen ordered sternly.
"There is another thing going on outside. It started from last afternoon. People are saying that Wanfei is not favored by Wangye. Wangye did not even accompany Wangfei to visit parents after marriage. Soon there will be other concubines in the mansion and Wangfei will be demolished in no time." Xiao San stealthily looked up at Qiu Chen.
Qiu Chen was holding a cup while resting on the couch sideways. He looked down at the cup while his lips formed a gentle smile. Who says their Wangfei is not elegant or noble! Come and fight Xiao San! But as he could not see Qiu Chen's eyes he thought that their Wangfei is sad. He is so sad that he is smiling.
"I will send people outside to dismiss the rumor. Wangfei is very much favored by Wangye and respected by the servants" Xiao San hurriedly added.
"No need. Every rumor has it own reason" Qiu Chen unhurriedly said. He signaled looked at the writing equipment on the table. Xiao San got the signal. He took a sheet of paper and placed it in front of Qiu Chen and started grinding ink. Qiu Chen dipped the brush in the ink and wrote something on the paper. He left it to dry.
"From now on you will dress a regular servant while going out with me. And I am giving you three days. Find all the shady servants and maids out, inquire about their masters, and then send them away from here secretly. But you have to keep sending reports to their masters in their place. I want the mansion as impenetrable as a fort." He looked at the paper through the corner of his eyes, took it, rolled it and bound it with a thread. "Take this to the manager of Qing Yuan Restaurant. Pronounce 'master' while handing it over. Let no one find you out. Dismiss."
Xiao San took the paper and left. Wnagfei is even scarier than he thought. If he wasn't wrong one of the rumors was spread by Wangfei himself while one more was pushed forward by him. Really scary.
Zhao Yichen came back before dinner. After freshening up he came to his wangfei. He hadn't met the person long ago, but somehow he felt like he had loved him for a long time. Even a few hours at the barracks could make him restless. When he left early, other generals made fun of him saying that young love is really something else. He didn't even feel irritated at that. He was, on the other hand, secretly happy about it.But his colds face did not show it, so the others didn't say much. Now this person was in front of him, he should feel good. But he still felt that something was missing.
Qiu Chen got up from his couch and came to Zhao Yichen. This man actually came in front of after taking a shower. Meticulous, Qiu Chen thought. He leaned forward, stood on his tiptoe and placed a soft kiss on Zhao Yichen's lips but parted as soon as he touched, "Welcome home, Wangye."
What Qiu Chen did should be counted as outrageous according to the customs but to Zhao Yichen, it was sweet. Welcome home? Yes, this mansion where he barely lived in the past, felt like a home now. He really loved his little mischievous devil. The soft touch on his lips made him feel like his little devil was teasing himself. He controlled his wild thoughts and smiled to his wife, "Let's have dinner?" Qiu Chen nodded.
After finishing dinner they went out to the garden to have a stroll for the purpose of better digestion. Qiu Chen told Zhao Yichen about Butler Wang.
"You want him to be a double agent? Clever," Zhao Yichen complimented his wife.
Qiu Chen was happy being praised by his man. He smiled brightly. Under the moonlight a soft looking young man dressed in white was looking up with his eyes shining with pride and his lips opened with wide smile. Zhao Yichen felt that his heart was caught by a hand and squeezed. This little piece of moon was his. He stretched out his hands and brought the person into his arms. Qiu Chen placed his head on Zhao Yichen's chest. He could hear the strong but somewhat irregular heartbeat of the man. He hugged Zhao Yichen's waist. This man's arms were always most comfortable and safe place for him. He closed his eyes with content. But his mouth was still at work.
"Wangye" Qiu Chen called softly.
"Hum?" Zhao Yichen's voice was also soft, so soft that he himself was amazed by it.
"Do I make your heart race?" Qiu Chen asked, his tone was that of a child's naïve question about the very normal but new things.
Zhao Yichen didn't answer but hugged him tighter. After a while Qiu Chen lifted his head. He thought about going back to the room. But the man placed his right hand on the left side of his head. Qiu Chen was looking at the man's eyes. Zhao Yichen looked down at him, then slowly approached. Qiu Chen thought that he was going to kiss him. So he cooperatively closed his eyes. But the expected kiss didn't come. Instead there was a soft and lingering touch on his forehead. It was soft, but assuring.
"You also make it complete." Qiu Chen understood that Zhao Yichen replying to his previous question. He felt a river of warmth flowing down his chest. He is not a person who gets shy easily. But at this moment he blushed. He wanted to hide in Zhao Yichen's arms so the man could not see his flustered appearance.
Zhao Yichen chuckled and directly picked Qiu Chen up in a princess carry. Qiu Chen panicked at this.
"What are you doing! The servants are here!" Qiu Chen's face looked like it could drip blood at any moment.
"So what? It's not like we are having an affair! I am your husband" Zhao yichen Chuckled softly.
Qiu Chen could only hold onto Zhao Yichen's neck harder and bury his red face in the man's arms. After they entered the inner chamber, Zhao Yichen placed qiu Chen directly on bed.
"I haven't showe........" his unfinished sentenced was stopped by a fierce kiss. This kiss was different than their previous kisses. Qiu Chen felt his strength draining away from the kiss. Zhao Yichen got down from his lips. He started kissing his neck like a hungry wolf. Qiu Chen gripped the hair behind Zhao Yichen head hard. Zhao Yichen felt the tug. He thought he overstepped.
"I am sorry. I will come back in a while" Zhao Yichen stared getting up from the bed. But Qiu Chen didn't release his grip.
"Don't. Just....Just be gentle" Qiu Chen said avoiding Zhao Yichen eyes. Zhao Yichen was surprised. He freed his hair from wife's hand took it in front of eyes. He looked at the delicate wrist before him. Of course he had to be gentle. He placed a kiss on the white and thin wrist. How could he hurt this person? No pain should come to him.
But in the end, Qiu Chen cried, although the reason behind his tears wasn't pain. Zhao Yichen was careful during the process. But he was still a healthy young man who never tasted meat. He could not stop after one round. So, they went on for several rounds. By the end of it Qiu Chen lost consciousness. Zhao Yichen carried the unconscious Qiu Chen to the tub, gave him a nice bath. After placing him on the bed, he himself also took a shower. He slept peacefully with his wife in his arms.
When Qiu Chen woke up from sleep it was almost noon. He tried to sit up. Damn, it hurts! But when he remembered why it hurt, his face turned red. He tried to sit again. Then he noticed something. The amount of pain was less than expected. He smelled a herbal fragrance around him. Zhao Yichen rubbed medicine for him. Qiu Chen felt sweet. He called Xiao Li in.
"Has Wangye said the time of his return?" Qiu Chen asked her, he watched maids placing his cloths, water etc on the table.
Xiao Li spoke as she helped Qiu Chen wash his face, "To return to Wangfei, Wangye said he will be back before dinner. He has to visit some people."
Qiu Chen nodded in understanding. He told Xiao Li to arrange lunch and dismissed her.
After lunch Qiu Chen felt sluggish. So he went to the bedroom to lie down. But even before he could relax, Xiao Li came.
"Wangfei, people from the Duke's mansion have come."
"Okay, let's go." Qiu Chen got up from bed to go to the main hall with Xiao Li following him.
"Second Young Master" the butler from the Song family saluted Qiu Chen.
"Second Young Master? Seems like my respected father hasn't cut my name from the family register yet" Qiu Chen said as he sat down in the main seat.
"Wangfei" the butler hurriedly corrected himself. "The name has been cut. And it was made clear that the family has decided to disown you."
"Good. After all, I am unfilial, ain't I?" Qiu Chen chukled softly. But this low laughter made Butler Song break out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly handed over something to Qiu Chen.
"This is the dowry list. Pray Wangfei see it for himself," he placed the list in front of Qiu Chen. Qiu Chen looked at it but didn't even extend his hand. He took out another list from the pocket inside his sleeve and handed it over to Butler Wang.
"Match the items with the list." Butler Wang received the list with both hands and began checking. Butler song stood there. He was not even asked to sit. But this was the last thing he could think about. He could not understand how the child who was always bullied, never dared to protect himself could be this tough guy here. He was afraid of him. He was not this afraid even in front of the Duke.
Qiu Chen sat there elegantly drinking the tea. He really missed coffee, burgers, pizza, pasta, fried chicken and all kinds of junk foods. But he couldn't get those here. This thought made him displeased. The air pressure around him suddenly fell.
The two butlers did not know that their Wangfei was just irritated about some foods he could not have. They only knew that the person over there is not happy. Butler Wang started hurrying up while Butler Song tried to stop his knees from shaking.
"Wangfei, the goods are alright" Butler Wang reported, his forehead covered with thin sweat.
Qiu Chen nodded in acknowledgement. "Ben Fei has received the dowry. From now on I am not a son of the Duke's mansion and I don't owe them anything. Convey this to your master. Oh, by the way, where has your master said that he disowned me? People are slandering Ben Fei. Butler Wang, see them out." Qiu Chen spoke while standing up from the seat like he was talking about any passing topic and not about breaking out of his family. He cast a last glance at the Butler Song and left. This last glance sucked out Butler Song's last bit of strength. He didn't know he returned to the carriage with no strength in his knees.
Qiu Chen came back to his room. He finally had some time to give a rest to aching waist. He lay down. He already completed one of the tasks. He is working on another task. But apart from these, he needs to deal with those of the Song Jia. The original owner was pushed to death by them. Qiu Chen was never so good of a person who let people go easily. He also needed to meet some people from his grandfather's side. Those people will never work under a person who would work under a person who was only their master in name. He needed to win them over. He already passed on his words to Qing Yuan. He wanted to be idle like last world. But he got works to do. This life is hard.
Suddenly there was a sound of opening the door and a figure came in. The man suddenly rushed to the bed. "Baby, why are you in bed? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" the man asked as he touched Qiu Chen's forehead.
Qiu Chen found it funny but he controlled his laughter. "Are you the one to ask? Who promised to be gentle last night but carried on until I fainted? And why are you back now? Weren't you to be back by dinner" Qiu Chen sounded aggressive.
Zhao Yichen felt the rage of his wife was really cute. He wanted to take advantage of Qiu Chen again but he dared not. He silently got on the bed, sat behind Qiu Chen and started massaging his back.
"I'm sorry, baby. I will be careful next time. And I really really missed baby, so came back hurriedly," Zhao Yichen coaxed the puffer fish in front of him gently.
"Humph!" Qiu Chen did not care about talking more. He knew that the man will be a beast again, and it was not like he really disliked that. But the last sentenced pleased him. Zhao Yichen saw him pretending to be angry while being happy. He sighed helplessly. No matter how sly this person is, he is only eighteen after all.
The next day Qiu Chen went to Qing Yuan restaurant with Xiao San. He was taken to the previous private room. After Qiu Chen sat down the wall in front of him suddenly moved. The room became a hall for holding a meeting. On the other side of the partition were sitting twelve men, one of them being Qing Yuan. They all raised their hand to salute Qiu Chen, but Qiu Chen spoke first.
"Grandson of the fifth generation Association Leader of The Raven, Song RuZhen greets the elders of the association," Qiu Chen spoke politely while raising his hands to salute them, "Elders don't need to call me the Leader until you recognize me from your heart. But I need opportunities to prove myself."
The Raven is the secret spy organization of Fang family, which protected the Great Zhao from generation to generation. This was the reason why the emperor granted Song Ruzhen's marriage with Zhao Yichen.
The elders nodded. They liked the spirit of the boy in front of them. But they still went on introducing themselves.
"Qing Yuan, Head of the Capital branch, operated from Qing Yuan Restaurant."
"Fu MiLan, Head of Information Collection and Distribution branch, operated from Fragrance House." Qiu Chen did not expect this person to be a woman, a brothel owner on that.
The introduction went on. By the end of it was already half an hour. Qiu Chen started talking to them.
"I will need to use the elders for the country. Our association has always been there for common people since ancient times. I would like to ask the elders to give me a list of corrupted officials from all over Great Zhao."
"Why from all over the country at the very beginning?" Yuwen Zhi, the head of the branch located in Southern Province asked.
"My grandfather spent his life protecting this country. I, as his grandson, cannot let those corrupted official ruin this country. My husband happens to be a prince who can do these works in an upright way. I believe in his character, and I believe the elders present in front of me do so. I want him to eliminate these pests. Though he has been protecting the country for years, in public's eyes he is non-existent. If he can be able to do this task, the people will love and respect him. He has been protecting this country for years. He devoted his life to protect the common people. But this time he needs to be recognized. And also, he, for years, is putting the people before everything else. In my heart I know that he will never let the country down." Qiu Chen spoke slowly without hiding anything, but his tone was not humble. He truly believed in what he said.
The branch heads nodded in deep thoughts. The way of this child's doing things was straight forward and simple. But it was the most feasible way. He was right, if they hadn't investigated Zhao Yichen thoroughly, they would not have been here. Because working for Song Ruzhen means joining the Fourth Prince's faction. This kid's reasoning sounded valid in their ears. So, they decided to test him and the Fourth Prince this time.
Qing Yuan arranged lunch for all of them. The formal environment broke. Everyone started chatting among themselves. Fu Milan, as a woman was more interested in Qiu Chen's married life. So she came to Qiu Chen.
"Xiao Zhen has grown much. Xiao Zhen is a family man now," Fu Milan said in a teasing tone.
"Fu Furen?" Qiu Chen didn't remember knowing this woman at all.
"Aiyah! What Furen! Your mother used to be my closest sister. You should call me Aunt Fu....No, just call me auntie" Fu Milan said in a warm voice making Qiu Chen remember his mother from the last world. His eyes suddenly became sad.
"Auntie" he called in a low voice.
Fu Milan thought that he was sad because he remembered his mother. She wanted to light up his mood. So she started to talk about Qiu Chen's life after marriage.
"Tell auntie, does the prince dote on you? He is so serious all the time. Is he like that in private too? After all he is a prince, does he treat you well?" The last question was full of worry.
Qiu Chen was first astonished to see that a branch head of a secret organization could be this gossipy. But when he heard the last question, he felt warm. How much of a fool the original owner was not to get close to these people who genuinely cared about him?
"He treats me well," Qiu Chen said in a low voice, but his eyes showed fondness which was not present in them until he talked about Zhao Yichen. Fu Milan was an experienced woman. He knew that his sister's son, at least, was in love with the man. But whether that man really loved her nephew or not, she needed to see with her own eyes.
A/N: I don't feel like continueing this story anymoreð