Chapter 384: Entrustment
Chapter 384: Entrustment
Seeing the ambiguous look on Song Qingshu’s face, Miao Renfeng’s expression became increasingly ugly.
Miao Ruolan quickly pulled Song Qingshu’s sleeves while shaking her head, “Brother, please don’t be angry with daddy, okay?”
Last time in Ping Yizhi’s wooden house, Miao Ruolan not only witnessed Song Qingshu’s martial arts, but was also shocked by his calmness in controlling the life and death of the people in the room.
Young girls all had a tendency to admire heroes. Miao Ruolan had always believed that her father was the most powerful person in the world, until he was easily defeated by Zhang Wuji just now, and that dream was suddenly shattered. Fortunately, Song Qingshu arrived in time and defeated the big bad guy, suddenly filling the vacancy of a hero in the young girl’s heart.
Miao Ruolan looked at Song Qingshu with admiration in her eyes, and seeing that Song Qingshu was always angry with her father, she couldn’t help but beg for him.
Feeling relieved by the little girl’s voice, Song Qingshu showed a warm smile on his cold face. He nodded slightly and turned to Miao Renfeng and said, “Don’t think about some messy things. I learned about King Chuang’s treasure by other means, it has nothing to do with the one you think of.”
“Is it the wandering Taoist named Jin Yong that you mentioned before?” Bing Xue’er recalled that when the two of them came back from Yanziwu for medical treatment, Song Qingshu seemed to have mentioned that matter.
“Do you still remember this?” Song Qingshu glanced at her in surprise.
Bing Xue’er smiled tenderly and did not answer, but silently said in her heart, ‘I remember every word you said.’
Hearing Bing Xue’er say the same thing, Miao Renfeng no longer had any doubts and sighed, “Madame Hu, this Miao also hopes that you can deliver a message for me and tell… her that I have given her the most important thing in my life. I hope she will take good care of it and give it a good home in the future.”
Bing Xue’er looked at him strangely, thinking that Nan Lan was Miao Ruolan’s mother, so why would he have to remind her of her daughter’s marriage?
Song Qingshu understood that Miao Renfeng was not referring to Miao Ruolan, but the treasure map hidden in the crested jade hairpin on Nan Lan’s head.
Song Qingshu hesitated for a moment, but decided to bluntly tell the truth, “Master Miao, I know you are worried about the secret being leaked, so you are hiding something in your words. In fact, you don’t have to be like this. I know all the secrets that need to be known, even about the hairpin.”
Miao Renfeng’s expression changed greatly, “You…”
Song Qingshu raised his hand to interrupt him, turned to Bing Xue’er and Miao Ruolan and said, “Sister-in-law, take Ruolan over there for a walk. I have something to say to Master Miao.”
Bing Xue’er glanced at him worriedly, but still pulled Miao Ruolan a few feet away.
Miao Renfeng snorted angrily, “What do you want?”
Song Qingshu replied, “I want you to send a message to Nan Lan and tell her to hand over the crested jade hairpin to me.”
When Miao Renfeng saw that Song Qingshu really knew everything, he was shocked and angry, “Wishful thinking!”
Song Qingshu sneered, “I know the approximate location of King Chuang’s treasure, and I also know that the treasure map is hidden among the beaded flowers in Madame’s hairpin. Currently, she and Tian Guinong are living in my residence in the capital. So, if I really wanted to take the treasure map by force, it would be a piece of cake.”
“The reason why I didn’t take it, but chose to ask you personally, is because I admire you for your upright life and your honest efforts for the cause of fighting against the Qing Dynasty. Although I don’t like you, I admire you. So I don’t want to wait until you die, then bully your orphan and widow.”
Miao Renfeng fell silent for a while and asked after a long time, “What do you want to do with the King Chuang’s treasure?”
Song Qingshu looked at the sky, with a strange light flashing in his eyes, “I need it for military expenses. I will do the thing you people haven’t been able to do.”
Miao Renfeng couldn’t help but sneer when he heard his words, “You speak such big words.”
Over the years, there have been countless rebels in the Qing Dynasty. Whether they wanted to fight against the Qing Dynasty in order to restore the Ming Dynasty, or they simply wanted to fight against the Qing Dynasty, no organization could see the hope of success.
According to what Miao Renfeng knew, although Song Qingshu’s martial arts skills were high, he was only a single person. What more could he do to change the overall situation?
“You don’t believe it?” Song Qingshu laughed.
Miao Renfeng snorted coldly, the meaning was obvious.
Song Qingshu said, “To enhance my persuasion, I can tell you that the Golden Serpent Camp is already in my possession, and I have already reached an agreement with the Ninth Princesses of the Ming Dynasty. I want to use the Golden Serpent Camp with the righteous name of the former Ming Princess to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. That way, I will naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort.”
“In the past, when the Golden Serpent King Yuan Chengzhi was still alive, the Golden Serpent Camp was immensely powerful, yet it still failed to have any real impact on the Qing court. Now that they are in decline, what’s the use of taking over their forces?” Although Miao Renfeng said that, but his tone had become quite loose.
“Have you heard the news about my assassination of Kangxi some time ago?” Song Qingshu suddenly asked.
Miao Renfeng nodded, “I know, although you failed, you are still worthy of admiration. If it weren’t for this incident, based on what you have done before, no matter how high your martial arts skills are, you would never be in this Miao’s eyes.”
Song Qingshu smiled faintly, “You also know the level of my martial arts, do you think I would fail in the assassination?”
Miao Renfeng was stunned at first, and then his expression changed drastically, “You mean…”
Song Qingshu stood with his hands behind his hands, “Yes, the real Kangxi is dead.”
Miao Renfeng’s mouth opened slightly, and he was speechless in shock. Immediately, a hint of ecstasy arose in his heart. Maybe the person in front of him could complete the work that so many people had failed to do.
When Miao Ruolan was summoned to her father, she noticed an unspeakable excitement in her father’s eyes. Then she heard her father say, “Lan’er, after you see your mother, ask her to hand over the crested jade hairpin to your Brother Song, just say that I said it myself, remember it.”
Although Miao Ruolan was confused, she still hummed, “Lan’er understands.”
Miao Renfeng suddenly put Miao Ruolan’s hand into Song Qingshu’s, “Young Master Song, please take care of Lan’er from now on.”
As soon as she heard those words, Miao Ruolan shyly looked at Song Qingshu, and then quickly lowered her eyelids, leaving only her long eyelashes slightly trembling.
Song Qingshu was also stunned still on the spot, and Bing Xue’er’s expression looked even weirder, as she though in her heart, ‘You just asked me to take your daughter to find her mother, and now you suddenly changed and entrusted her to a man. What’s going on?’
And listening to Miao Renfeng’s tone, Bing Xue’er felt that he was entrusting Miao Ruolan for all her life, and she felt even more awkward. So she couldn’t help but give Song Qingshu a stern look.
Song Qingshu understood that Bing Xue’er might have misunderstood because of what he had just said to Miao Renfeng, so he felt it was difficult to explain and quickly said, “Master Miao, I’m afraid this is not convenient.”
Miao Renfeng felt the vitality in his body gradually draining away, and weakly said, “I gave you such a big gift, are you still unwilling to take care of my daughter?”
Hearing what Miao Renfeng said, Song Qingshu became speechless and could only nod his head, “In that case, this Song will do his best to take care of your daughter and never let her get hurt at all.”
Miao Renfeng had no choice but to do this. Originally, he wanted to entrust his daughter to Nan Lan, but Nan Lan was already with another man. Considering Tian Guinong’s character, Miao Renfeng was worried that Miao Ruolan would suffer a lot of injustice.
But now that he knew about Song Qingshu’s situation, he naturally felt that instead of entrusting his daughter to a den of tigers and wolves like the Tian family, it would be more reassuring to entrust his daughter to Song Qingshu.
Seeing Miao Ruolan standing there with a shy face, Bing Xue’er was stunned for a moment. After hearing Miao Renfeng’s words, it seemed that he had already given the dowry to Song Qingshu, and Miao Ruolan didn’t seem to object as well.
Bing Xue’er’s heart began to pound like a frightened deer.
“Lan’er, dad can’t take care of you anymore. From now on, you should listen to Young Master Song’s words. With him taking care of you, you will be able to live happily in this troubled world.” Miao Renfeng’s eyes gradually became blurred. It was obvious that the effect of the pill was ending.
Song Qingshu sighed and helped Bing Xue’er to the side, leaving the two father and daughter with their last moment’s alone together.
“What on earth did you say to Brother Miao just now? Why, why did he betroth Ruolan to you?” When the two of them came a few feet away, and Bing Xue’er gently shook off Song Qingshu’s arm. She bit her lips and quietly looked at him.
“What betrothal? Don’t talk nonsense!” Song Qingshu was immediately frightened, “He just asked me to take care of her.”
“Is that so?” Bing Xue’er looked suspicious, “Brother Miao obviously looked as if he was talking to his son-in-law.”
“You think too much,” Song Qingshu couldn’t laugh or cry, “The reason why he is happy is because of another thing. In the final analysis, we just made a deal.”
“What deal?” Bing Xue’er was not a jealous woman. She was actually very clear that with her status, it would be impossible for her and Song Qingshu to be together in an open and honest manner, so she didn’t mind if he married another woman.
But even though she didn’t mind him marrying another wife, it would be another matter if he wanted to marry her niece.
In the recent period, Bing Xue’er had thoroughly understood Song Qingshu’s wicked side. She glanced at the little white flower-like Miao Ruolan not far away and thought that Miao Renfeng was just sending a sheep into a tiger’s mouth by handing his daughter over to Song Qingshu’s care.
Bing Xue’er was the person Song Qingshu trusted the most in the world, so he thought it would be okay to tell her about the matter of replacing Kangxi. It’s just that he had been… obsessed with their heated sessions, and he hadn’t had time to tell her yet.
Just as he was about to relay what he had just said to Miao Renfeng to Bing Xue’er, he suddenly heard Miao Ruolan bursting into tears on the side. The two of them looked back and saw the Golden-faced Buddha who had once been a heroic figure in the world and defeated many powerful opponents in the wulin, had finally passed away.
Song Qingshu buried Miao Renfeng in the nearby woods and engraved the following words on the stele,
[I am the only undefeated champion under the heavens and above the earth; throughout the ages, I have conquered all the invincible enemies in the world!]
[Here lies the Golden-faced Buddha, Miao Renfeng.]
Song Qingshu was quite hesitant at first, and worried that someone passing by would feel resentful when seeing the tombstones and destroy the tomb, but then he thought that Miao Renfeng used to be straightforward all his life, so why would it be any different after his death?
However, just to be on the safe side, Song Qingshu still used a sharp Sword Qi to carve the words on the stone tablet. That way, common people would be disturbed by the Sword Qi on the stone tablet as soon as they approach it. In case they are true martial arts masters, they would naturally feel admiration towards the sword Qi on the stone tablet, and wouldn’t want to destroy it.
Standing next to Miao Ruolan, Song Qingshu felt very awkward. Her existence itself was a bit troublesome, so Song Qingshu didn’t know how to call her.
“Miss Miao, please show your condolences and follow me.”