Qiao Fenglang only learned about this two years later. After finding out, Qiao Fenglang often went to the garden to see the twin brother who looked almost exactly like him. Once, he brought Yin Wuxiao with him, which almost made her discover Mu Li's existence.
Yin Wuxiao was utterly shocked: "My uncle actually... did such a thing?" To imprison his own son, what a heartless person he is!
"With a mother like that, there must be a father like that. They are a match made in heaven." Qiao Fenglang sneered sarcastically.
"And what about you? You knew about this, yet you didn't resist at all?"
"You're right. I knew about this, and I never even thought of resisting. I didn't have a shred of pity for my own brother. No wonder, with a father and a mother like that..."
Yin Wuxiao felt a wave of strangeness wash over him.
"And... what happened next?"
"And then? Then one day, suddenly, Mu Li disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Hmm. I hope he never comes back." He paused. "Xiao'er, what do you think people in the martial arts world would think if they knew that the leader of the Qiao Clan was actually the son of a heretical sorceress and a heartless man?"
Yin Wuxiao trembled slightly. She looked at Qiao Fenglang and suddenly realized how unfamiliar he was.
They grew up together, with Qiao Fenglang being a few years older than her, and he always spoiled her as much as possible. Although they were only cousins in name, their relationship was extremely close. But at some point, their relationship gradually became distant, and the easy and pleasant interactions of the past were gone forever.
Because of that marriage contract, the way Qiao Fenglang looked at her made her feel very pressured.
However, apart from Aunt Yun who was in a coma, Qiao Fenglang was her only family. Thinking of this, her heart softened a little, and she gently held Qiao Fenglang's hand.
“Brother Fenglang, no matter what, they are your mother and brothers. Nothing is more important than them, is it? I know you are having a hard time adjusting to this fact, but what needs to be done must be done. As for the opinions of outsiders…” she said earnestly, “I will always stand by your side.”
Qiao Fenglang looked at her with a complicated expression for a while, then slowly stroked her shoulder: "Xiao'er, you seem... to have really changed a lot."
She's become much more soft-hearted.
The group temporarily settled in Baiwen Manor, each with their own reasons and ulterior motives, yet all settled in peacefully. For the first time in twenty years, Xuanhe Manor, usually so quiet and deserted, welcomed so many guests.
The next steps were simply treating the wounded and investigating the cause of the incident. As expected, the Baili family members were all incredibly busy, appearing and disappearing like dragons.
Led by Qiao Fenglang, Yin Wuxiao exchanged thanks with Baili Qingyi, and then never saw Baili Qingyi again. Qiao Fenglang's attitude was cautious and reluctant. However, Baili Qingyi had saved Yin Wuxiao's life, so his thanks were genuine. Baili Qingyi's attitude, on the other hand, was as indifferent as ever, gentle yet distant. He also thanked Qiao Fenglang, simply for the sake of peace in the martial world and less bloodshed. Yin Wuxiao felt extremely bored, but noticed that none of the men present glanced at her.
Back under Qiao Fenglang's wing, everything seemed different. People seemed to deliberately ignore her past hardships and still pampered her like a precious princess. And the adventure with Baili Qingyi seemed to have never happened.
Yin Wuxiao was instantly utterly bewildered, as if he were no longer himself.
Until this day, she met Rong Jufeng and his sister in the village.
Rong Jufeng's eyes seemed to be filled with daggers as he looked at her. Yin Wuxiao suspected that if they weren't in the bustling Baiwen Manor, but in some desolate wilderness, Rong Jufeng would have killed her and disposed of her body without hesitation.
Rong Qiurui's attitude towards her was quite friendly. She even let go of Rong Jufeng's hand and ran over to grab Yin Wuxiao's hand, saying, "Miss Yin, it's wonderful! You've finally escaped from that devil Yin Bitong! I've been so worried about you!"
Yin Wuxiao gave a fake smile, her gaze shifting to Rong Jufeng, whose expression was unpredictable. That day, she had been caught up in the conflict between the Rong siblings and the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost, and Rong Qiurui had already fainted unconscious. It seemed Rong Jufeng hadn't told Rong Qiurui how they had escaped the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost's clutches. Although Rong Jufeng was ruthless, he meticulously protected his younger sister.
"Miss Rong, I heard you were attacked in Hundred Questions Valley? How did you escape?" Yin Wuxiao asked meaningfully.
Rong Qiurui answered excitedly, "That day, my brother risked his life to protect me as we escaped. He almost lost his life, but luckily, the young man in blue rescued me on the way, which saved me from being persecuted!"
"Young Master in Blue?" Yin Wuxiao stared at Rong Jufeng and snorted coldly.
Rong Qiurui nodded: "If it weren't for the young master in green, my brother and I would already be..." A slight blush rose on her face.
Yin Wuxiao then turned his gaze back to her face, and upon seeing her expression, he was taken aback. Looking at Rong Jufeng again, he saw that Rong Jufeng had indeed narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
Yin Wuxiao suddenly found it amusing that Rong Jufeng had made up a story for his sister, but inadvertently caused Rong Qiurui to secretly fall in love with Baili Qingyi.
"Qiu Rui, it's windy outside, help me back to my room," Rong Jufeng said coldly.
Rong Qiurui then looked at Yin Wuxiao apologetically: "I'm sorry, Miss Yin, we'll have a long talk next time."
Yin Wuxiao smiled bitterly. A heart-to-heart talk? He feared that Rong Jufeng would be so unsettled that he would kill her to silence her.
With Rong Qiurui's support, Rong Jufeng slowly walked towards his room, coldly tossing out a sentence in the wind: "Take care, Miss Yin."
Yin Wuxiao shivered.
She felt that it was truly remarkable that Rong Jufeng could restrain himself from killing her on the spot.
Even if she said that the murderer at the banquet of the Seventeen Young Masters of Luoyang was not Yin Bitong but Rong Jufeng, and even if she said that Rong Jufeng framed her in Hundred Questions Valley to help him escape, probably no one would believe her. Although the Rong family's reputation in the martial arts world is not as good as that of the Baili family, it is still excellent. Without evidence, it will not be easy for her to accuse him of his crimes.
After thinking it over, she decided she needed to take some self-protection measures. So she walked towards the room where the Baili family members were.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard of the side room, I heard a clear and melodious woman's laughter coming from inside.
Yin Wuxiao was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he realized that the Baili family did indeed live in the west wing of the front courtyard of the manor. He hesitated for a while longer before finally stepping inside.
Before she even entered, she saw Baili Hanyi walking out excitedly. The two bumped into each other. Baili Hanyi wasn't surprised to see her at all. Instead, she naturally pulled her inside, saying as they walked, "Come and try some of these delicious snacks!"
"Snacks?" Yin Wuxiao asked blankly.
The cook at Baiwen Manor has really poor cooking skills; how can she possibly have the energy to make desserts?
Baili Hanyi casually replied, "I didn't expect the second young lady of the Yuwen family to be able to make so many delicious pastries. It seems I underestimated her!"
Before Yin Wuxiao could think it through, Baili Hanyi pulled him into the small hall. In the center of the hall, a round table was set with a variety of red and green pastries, including strips of cloud cake, chunks of glutinous rice candy, and balls of fried vegetable dumplings. The sweet, oily, and eggy aromas mingled together, making it incredibly tempting.
Baili Qingyi and Yuwen Cuiyu sat separately, neither showing any obvious joy or anger on their faces, while Yuwen Hongying, on the other hand, completely abandoned her fierce and shrewish demeanor and stood by the table with a beaming smile, extremely proud.
Upon seeing Yin Wuxiao, Yuwen Hongying did not rush over immediately. Instead, she paused for a moment before smiling and inviting her, "Miss Yin, please try some of the pastries I made myself. The food here is rather coarse, and I'm sure you won't be used to it."
Yin Wuxiao's skin crawled with goosebumps. How could Yuwen Hongying be such a different person?
Yuwen Cuiyu saw through her thoughts and smiled, "Hongying caused quite a bit of trouble last time, and Grandma disciplined her severely. Now she has been completely transformed. Not only is she gentler, but she has also learned these virtuous skills."
Yin Wuxiao glanced at the pastries; they did indeed look quite appealing. So, he said, not really meaning it, "Miss Hongying has really changed a lot in just a few days. These pastries are making my mouth water."
Yuwen Hongying nodded as a matter of course, and then said to Baili Qingyi, "Brother Qingyi, if you like osmanthus sweet soup, I can make it right away, and I guarantee it will be even better than my sister's!"
Apart from Yin Wuxiao, the other three people present suddenly understood upon hearing this. It turned out that Yuwen Hongying had orchestrated this whole thing because she knew that Yuwen Cuiyu had given Baili Qingyi osmanthus sweet soup. She probably thought that Yuwen Cuiyu had won Baili Qingyi's favor with just a bowl of osmanthus sweet soup, which was why Baili Qingyi had left her at the Yuwen residence.
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Yin Wuxiao, though unaware of the reason beforehand, could guess a little. After thinking for a moment, he simply sat down at the table without any hesitation, picked up a piece of glutinous rice candy, stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a smile, "Delicious, really delicious."
Yuwen Hongying's face darkened, and she frowned as she said, "Miss Yin has been wandering outside for so many years, and she has indeed become much more forthright. Even her eating is so rough... rough."
Yin Wuxiao almost spat out the glutinous rice candy from his mouth.
It's clear that one cannot expect Yuwen Hongying to transform from an unreasonable and willful woman into a gentle and virtuous little woman in just two months.
So he smiled and said, "Our family is just a small one, so naturally we can't compare to the refined manners of the Yuwen family."
Yuwen Hongying was speechless, glaring angrily. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Baili Qingyi gently ask, "Miss Yin, is there something you need here?"
Yin Wuxiao's heart skipped a beat.
From the moment she entered, she didn't dare to look Baili Qingyi in the eye, as if a little devil was hiding in her heart.
At this moment, Baili Qingyi spoke first, and she had no choice but to meet his gaze directly. His eyes, as dark as the night sky, firmly and steadily enveloped her.
He still had that kind and stern expression, but he exuded a strong sense of aloofness.
Yin Wuxiao felt inexplicably irritated. She picked up another pastry: "I came here just to eat pastries."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Hongying glared at her fiercely.
Yin Wuxiao chuckled inwardly, knowing that Yuwen Hongying must be extremely annoyed to see the pastries she had painstakingly made end up in her stomach.
However, Baili Qingyi remained silent after that.
Yin Wuxiao swallowed two more pastries, feeling increasingly suffocated.
“Young Master in Green, I have indeed come here to discuss something important with you,” she said, clicking her fingers.
"Oh? What is it?" Baili Qingyi asked, drawing out her voice.
Yin Wuxiao stared at him, trying to discern a hint of mockery or inquiry on his face, but all she saw was his serious and earnest expression.
Slightly annoyed, she said, "Could I speak with the young man in blue alone?"
As expected, Yuwen Hongying glared at her fiercely again.
Baili Qingyi nodded and stood up: "Please follow me."
Chapter Sixteen: The Green Mountains Reflect My Dreams of Home (Part Three)
"Miss Yin, please speak." After entering the study, Baili Qingyi closed the door and sat down at the desk, speaking calmly.
Seeing that he had asked such a casual question, Yin Wuxiao felt somewhat embarrassed.
She simply couldn't understand how two people who had gone through thick and thin together, huddled around the same fire in a cave for warmth, and shared the same roasted rabbit could become so estranged.
But someone with her personality would never allow herself to be embarrassed. So she swaggered down and sat down on a grand chair nearby.
"Young Master in Green Robes, do you remember what I told you about the Rong siblings in Hundred Questions Valley?"
Baili Qingyi nodded.
"What if Rong Jufeng wants to kill me to silence me?"
Baili Qingyi was taken aback by her words and was momentarily at a loss for whether to laugh or grieve.
He looked at Yin Wuxiao, his expression softening slightly: "He wouldn't dare."
Yin Wuxiao looked down at his fingertips: "Hard to say. I know a huge secret about him."
"oh?"
"Do you know who killed those four young masters from prominent families at the banquet of the Seventeen Young Masters of Luoyang?"
"I heard it's Yin Bitong."
"No, no. I saw it with my own eyes. It was Rong Jufeng who killed those four people."
Baili Qingyi looked astonished: "Why would he do that?"
"He heard somewhere that the blood from a handsome man's heart could cure his sister's illness."
"So..." Baili Qingyi frowned, and after a long while said, "Did you really see him kill those four people with your own eyes?"
Yin Wuxiao was somewhat angry: "I didn't see it with my own eyes, but the only one who could kill them is Rong Jufeng. He put drugs in their food, so killing them would be a piece of cake."
"Oh? How do you know that Yin Bitong didn't kill them after they were drugged?"
"..." Yin Wuxiao was filled with anger. She stood up abruptly and sneered, "Baili Qingyi, I don't believe you can't find out the truth. Don't try to use those hypocritical tricks on me."
Baili Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then said, "I understand. I will investigate and find out the truth."
Yin Wuxiao trembled with anger: "Then you can investigate slowly. It's not too late to investigate after Rong Jufeng silences me!" She turned and was about to rush out the door.