Chapter 26: Debts That Cannot Be Repaid

Aunt Wei spoke warmly, pressing two eggs into Qin Mingyue’s hands. “Here, our old hen laid these just this morning. I figured since Qinci is injured, a bit of nourishment might help her recover sooner.”

The two women exchanged polite refusals, but Qin Mingyue accepted them carefully. “Thank you so much. Qinci woke up this morning, so I’m sure tomorrow she’ll bring back good news for everyone.”

She handed a written promissory note to Aunt Wei. “Qinci instructed me that everything will continue as usual during her recovery. Don’t worry. If you don’t trust me, surely you trust Qinci, don’t you? She only needs a couple of days to rest, otherwise this matter would already be settled. There’s still a day left—rest assured!”

Aunt Wei smiled, glancing at the note and tucking it away as if it were a treasure. “Of course I trust you, Mingyue. Take care of Qinci, and I’ll come again tomorrow.” With that, she left.

After several such visits, most of the promissory notes Qinci had calculated were distributed.

Qin Mingyue looked at the dwindling stack of notes, feeling utterly lost and sitting alone in the courtyard, sighing.

When Hua Qinci awoke, night had fully fallen.

She had worried that the villagers would come to the Qin family demanding money, but Mingyue had already resolved it with her plan.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Qin Youtian sitting nearby. He still wore his half-furry mask, but the exposed side of his face, though a bit dark, had features as finely carved as a craftsman’s work.

She remembered how he had resolutely offered to go to prison in her place, and her heart warmed.

So, at least this man was a responsible, good man.

Not like that other man, ruthless to the extreme, discarding her when she was no longer useful.

She suddenly felt that perhaps there was good and evil in this world—not everyone was bad, nor was everyone good.

She watched him for a while; seeing he hadn’t awakened, she carefully sat up. She’d slept face-down for who knew how long, and her body felt as if it might fall apart.

Someone had thoughtfully lit a candle in the room, likely Youtian, afraid she’d wake alone and stumble in the dark.

Hua Qinci sat up, realizing her clothes had been changed. She moved her arm—still aching, but much improved.

She reached for her coat and draped it over herself, then pulled a quilt over Qin Youtian.

He slept so soundly, she couldn’t bear to disturb him.

She reached out to remove his mask, curious to see the other side of his face, but her hand paused and lingered, unable to follow through.

Forget it. If one day you wish to remove it yourself, I’ll take a good look then.

She smiled and tiptoed out.

In the sitting room, Qin Mingyue was dozing in a chair. Hua Qinci gently covered her with a coat and slipped quietly outside.

In the yard, a gentle breeze danced with pink peach blossoms, filling the air with fragrance.

Hua Qinci sat down. Tonight the moon hung cold and high like a crescent in the heavens, bathing the earth in its glow.

She wondered how many more times she would see such a night.

A fire burned fiercely in her heart, growing stronger.

She had woken up earlier that morning, overheard Youtian and Mingyue’s conversation, knew Aunt Wei and the others had visited, and understood that tomorrow was the final deadline.

But she had already thought of a way to get the silver she needed.