As we stepped out the door, Xiao Nuo turned back and smiled, "Then tomorrow at this time, I'll wait for you, Seventh Brother, to come and discuss the specific details of our cooperation. See you tomorrow."
One last glance revealed a deep sense of shame and resentment on the face of the woman called Seventh Brother.
Unexpected
Outside the window, autumn leaves were falling and the cold wind was howling, but inside, the fire in the fireplace was blazing, and it was as warm as spring.
A bronze cauldron on the cupboard was burning with some kind of incense, filling the room with a warm, pleasant aroma. Xiao Mo leaned back in a sandalwood recliner covered with soft silk cushions, his eyes slightly closed, listening to a subordinate's report.
He was the eldest son of the Xiao family, and with Xiao Zuo gone, all the affairs of Baili City, big and small, fell on his shoulders. Was it easy? No. Was it tedious? No.
These past few days have been tiring, but for him, this is a rare opportunity—an opportunity he has longed for countless times since childhood—to prove his abilities to his father.
However, if he had a choice, he would rather not have this opportunity, at least not at the cost of his mother's serious illness and his second brother's disappearance... But there are many things in this world that do not give people a choice.
His mother was seriously ill, and although he was worried, he could still accept it because his father was by her side. But the disappearance of his second brother, Xiao Jian, truly made him restless and anxious... His second brother, the one who had been the apple of his parents' eye since childhood, the one whose eyes only shone with pride when they saw him, where had he gone? Was he really never going to come back home again?
Xiao Mo sighed, then suddenly remembered his third brother, Xiao Nuo. He quickly dismissed the matter with a few words and turned to ask the maid Xiao Wan beside him, "What has the third young master been up to these past few days?"
Xiao Wan replied with her hands at her sides, "Young Master, the Third Young Master left the city four days ago and only returned last night. The coachman only took him to Baili Town before he was driven back by him, and we don't know where he went."
Xiao Mo chuckled softly, “This little rascal is too playful. He went wild as soon as his father left and hasn’t been seen for days… Go and call him here. I want to ask him where he’s been running around these past few days.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than shouts came from outside the door: "Big brother, big brother... look what I brought back!"
Xiao Wan smiled and said, "Speak of the devil, and he appears."
Xiao Mo shook his head and had just straightened up when Xiao Nuo burst through the door, carrying a birdcage on her hand. She presented it to Xiao Mo like a treasure, her eyebrows dancing with excitement. "Big brother, look! I searched for three days and two nights in the deep mountains outside Baili Town, and I finally found a parrot! Isn't it beautiful?"
Xiao Mo glanced at it and almost burst out laughing. He scolded, "You little brat, are you blind? This isn't a parrot at all, it's clearly a Siberian pheasant!"
"A Siberian Wren?!" Xiao Nuo exclaimed in disbelief, "No, it's impossible..."
Xiao Mo chuckled and said, “Why not? Look—its fur is grayish-brown, its tail is long and thick, its eyes are round and large, its forelimbs are shorter than its hind limbs, and it has claws on its toes, just like a flying squirrel. And look at the back of its feet, they are orange-yellow. The Siberian Flying Squirrel is also known as the ‘Orange-footed Flying Squirrel,’ that’s where it got its name. If this isn’t a Siberian Flying Squirrel, then it would be strange!”
Xiao Nuo stared wide-eyed at the bird for a long time, then suddenly pouted, almost bursting into tears: "I searched for three whole days and two nights, and it turned out to be a Siberian Wren! Waaah..."
Xiao Wan, standing nearby, covered her mouth and laughed, saying between laughs, "Third Young Master, are you afraid this Siberian Frostbird won't be able to build a nest and will freeze to death, so you caught it and brought it back to your residence for the winter?"
"Xiao Wan!" Xiao Mo scolded her lightly, then comforted Xiao Nuo, "It's alright, I'll send someone to catch a real parrot for you to play with later, okay?"
He had always felt a deep tenderness and care for his ridiculous and infuriatingly stupid younger brother.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Nuo immediately burst into laughter through her tears, grabbed his sleeve, and exclaimed, "Big brother, you'll keep your word!"
"When has your older brother ever lied to you?" Xiao Mo sat down again, took a sip of tea, and asked casually, "By the way, hasn't your older sister been with you these past few days?"
Xiao Nuo was still immersed in the joy of about to get the "real parrot." Hearing this, he was first taken aback, then realized what was going on. His face fell, and he said with a bitter expression, "Big brother, are you talking about Sister Feng? When we got off the bus in Baili Town, she told me she was going to the mountains to find some kind of herb called 'something-something mushroom' to cure Mother's illness. I begged her to take me with her, but she thought I was too stupid and refused. So I had to go play by myself. Ah, I found a parrot in the mountains... a 'cold-weather bird.' I wonder if Sister Feng found the herb?"
As if in response to his question, at that moment, a disciple outside the door reported, "Young Master, Miss Feng requests an audience."
Xiao Mo smiled slightly: "What's going on today? How come so many people arrive so quickly? Please come in!"
A moment later, Feng Chenxi entered the room, looking travel-worn. She was carrying something in her hand, but it wasn't a birdcage. Instead, it was a dark brown herb resembling a lingzhi mushroom. Without a word, she handed it to Xiao Mo, saying, "This is called Crane Tail Mushroom. It's a rare and precious medicinal herb that can prolong life, nourish yin and yang. Young Master, please send someone to Tianshui Yixian Pavilion as soon as possible. It should help Madam Xiao's illness."
Xiao Mo looked her up and down, smiled, and said, "Miss Feng has suffered greatly in the mountains for my mother's illness. I am deeply grateful. Thank you." He then called out to Uncle Cai several times. The disciple outside the door replied, "Young Master, Uncle Cai is not here. He must have gone to Tianshui Yixian Pavilion."
Xiao Mo hummed in agreement and sighed, "Uncle Cai is an old man who has been with my parents for many years. He cares more about my mother's illness than most people do, and he goes to check on her several times a day... Xiao Wan, you should make the trip. These crane tail mushrooms are hard to come by, so be careful on the way."
"Yes." Xiao Wan took the crane tail mushroom and turned to leave. Feng Chenxi followed a few steps and instructed, "Wait until three bowls of water are boiled down to one bowl before using it."
As soon as Xiao Wan left the room, her body suddenly swayed a few times, as if she was extremely exhausted and could no longer support herself.
Seeing this, Xiao Nuo immediately helped her up, saying, "Sister, are you tired? Let me take you back to your room."
With that, she waved to Xiao Mo, helped Feng Chenxi back to her room, said "Sister, get some rest" and then left.
Feng Chenxi closed the door, walked to the table, washed her face, looked in the mirror, and felt that her pale face was a bit frightening. She actually found some rouge and eyebrow pencil in her bag and started to do her makeup in front of the mirror.
She went back to her room to rest, and there was no one else in the room at the moment. Who was she dressing up for? How strange.
What's even stranger is that after applying some blush, she suddenly remembered something, washed it off with water, haphazardly packed away her things, sat on the edge of the bed, and stared blankly into space, showing no sign of resting at all.
In the silence, the window frame suddenly clicked open, and a nimble figure slipped in, as silently as a raccoon dog.
Feng Chenxi wasn't surprised at all, as if she had known someone would break in through the window. She sat down comfortably on the edge of the bed and said, "Xiao Nuo, Third Young Master Xiao, I've done the deed for you. Now can you tell me why I lied to your older brother like this?"
The person who arrived was Xiao Nuo.
He walked to the bedside with a grin, sat down next to Feng Chenxi, and said leisurely, "Sister is so smart, you can't possibly not figure out the reason, right?"
There were so many places to sit in the room, yet he insisted on squeezing in here. Feng Chenxi glared at him and said, "You bastard, you even scheme against your own brother. I don't have the time to guess what you're thinking. If you want to talk, then talk; if not, then don't."
"Sister, you're so fierce!" Xiao Nuo stuck out her tongue and said, "I just thought that the fewer people who knew that I was impersonating Zhang Xianfang, the safer it would be. My older brother is very shrewd. If I don't give him a credible explanation, he might realize that we are the young master Zhang and his servant who suddenly arrived in Baili Town."
"Do you think your older brother already knows about what happened in Baili Town?"
"Of course I know! Baili Town is the hub connecting Baili City with the outside world. It has always been tightly managed internally but loosely managed externally. Let alone two people suddenly appearing in the town, even if someone dies or someone has a new baby, there will be spies reporting it to the city."
Feng Chenxi shuddered. So, there was an extremely tight information network between Baili Town and Baili City! The two were only a short drive apart, yet they were so carefully guarded. In terms of meticulousness and composure, Xiao Zuo was truly unparalleled. People say like father, like son; judging from Xiao Nuo's actions, he certainly had his father's style.
Thinking this, she asked Xiao Nuo again, "You didn't lie to your older brother just for this reason, did you?"
Xiao Nuo's smile vanished instantly, and after a long silence, she said, "There are indeed other reasons, but... Sister, I don't want to say them right now. Please don't force me, okay?"
Feng Chenxi looked at him quietly, and saw an unspeakable melancholy in his eyes and brows, as if he really had some unspeakable troubles. Her heart softened and she said softly, "Okay, I won't force you. However, we are partners now, and I won't allow you to keep things from me all the time."
Xiao Nuo immediately swore and vowed, "This is the only one, there are absolutely no others!"
"Is that so?" Feng Chenxi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and said slowly, "Then, what about Zhang Xianfang? Yesterday, after leaving Chunxiao Pavilion, I promised to go to the mountains to find herbs, so I didn't have a chance to ask you—how did you know that there was indeed a Zhang Xianfang in Jiangnan, and that you knew so much about his situation?"
Xiao Nuo blinked and said in a drawn-out voice, "That's because... I have friends in Jiangnan."
"Um?"
"Well, here's the thing: My friend has known Zhang Xianfang for a while and is quite familiar with his family situation. And Zhang Xianfang's family is... so interesting, so when we were chatting, my friend told me about it as a joke..."
Feng Chenxi rolled her eyes at him and said, "So what if he's afraid of his wife? Your friend is so boring, making a joke out of something like that!"
Xiao Nuo said, "Sister, you don't know this, there are many men who are afraid of their wives, but very few are as afraid as Zhang Xianfang. To escape his wife, he actually abandoned his family and children, and even gave up his family business. He just left. The Zhang family was afraid that they would be ridiculed if word got out, so they all claimed to the outside world that he had gone into seclusion to refine elixirs."
Feng Chenxi said "Oh": "So, you're just going to impersonate this person without any worries?"
"Hmm!" Xiao Nuo nodded heavily and said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't want to pretend to be such a spineless person! I can't even control my own wife, humph, shameful! I wonder just how powerful that woman is, does she eat people?"
Feng Chenxi said leisurely, "You mean Mo Pingting? Are you very curious about her? If you have the chance, you can go to the Zhang family in Jiangnan to see her yourself."
Xiao Nuo pouted and said, "I don't want to. What's so great about a shrew like that... Of course, if it were a kind and beautiful fairy like you, sister, I would crawl there even if you broke my legs!"
This guy actually dared to take advantage of her! Feng Chenxi glared at him fiercely, but her face suddenly flushed. She quickly stood up to cover it up, walked to the window, and whispered, "It's still early before our date. You should go back to your room and rest. I'm tired too."
Xiao Nuo stared at her silently for a long time without saying a word. Suddenly, he sighed and said, "Then, I... I'm leaving."
That night, at Chunxiao Pavilion.
Stepping into the brightly lit hall, Xiao Nuo found herself in a deathly silence. A sense of foreboding rose within her. After settling into a chair, she couldn't help but glance back at Feng Chenxi, who stood behind her, and read the same meaning in her eyes.
Fortunately, after only a short while, Seventh Brother, Black Tiger, and the group of men in black arrived, with a sedan chair carried by four people behind them.
"Brother Zhang." This seventh sister seemed to be in a good mood tonight. Not only did she change how she addressed Xiao Nuo, but she also looked more charming and alluring. She said in a sweet voice, "Have you been waiting long? I'm so sorry."
Xiao Nuo stood up and smiled, "No, no, I just arrived too." His gaze shifted slightly, and he added, "I wonder where Madam's boudoir is? It must be quite a walk, requiring a sedan chair. I thought that even if it wasn't in this Spring Night Pavilion, it wouldn't be too far..."
His smile was meaningful. He had discussed this with Feng Chenxi yesterday. This woman was probably not the real Seventh Brother, but she had a close relationship with him and was very likely his lover. They would first use her to test Xiao Nuo's intentions. If she passed the test, they would then invite the real Buddha to see him. As for this woman's identity, she was probably close enough to be the most beautiful courtesan in Chunxiao Pavilion.
To everyone's surprise, the woman giggled and said, "Brother Zhang, you've misunderstood. This sedan chair isn't for me. As for the person inside..." A look of self-reproach and regret suddenly appeared on her face as she said softly, "Brother Zhang, please don't hold it against me. I meant well. I thought that since you've been away from home for so long, and after our cooperation, you certainly wouldn't be able to return home for a while, I sent someone on horseback to Jiangnan to inform your family. I never expected..."
Although she phrased her words tactfully and seemed very sincere, her meaning was crystal clear—although Xiao Nuo had answered her questions fluently yesterday, she still doubted his identity.
Although Xiao Nuo passed the test in the booklet in her hand yesterday, it was still far from enough. The real test was the sedan chair behind her, and the person inside.
Who could it be? Who is the person inside the sedan chair?
Cold sweat seemed to break out on Xiao Nuo's back in an instant. Even a fool could guess that the person in the sedan chair must have a very close relationship with the real Zhang Xianfang, so close that he would recognize Zhang Xianfang even if he were reduced to ashes, so close that he could tell from the voice that he was an imposter!
Xiao Nuo clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his fingers felt like they were about to break. He couldn't believe he had made such an irreparable mistake—he had given the enemy enough time.
It took three days for Black Tiger to arrive; last night he could have negotiated with Seventh Brother, but he postponed the meeting until today because he didn't want to appear too hasty, which added another day. Four days and three nights would have been enough time to travel back and forth to Jiangnan with the best horses, and if it weren't for picking someone up, it wouldn't even have been necessary.
This is also why the booklet arrived earlier than the sedan chair. The booklet could be brought back by carrier pigeon, but people had to ride horses and carriages... In any case, one thing is certain: the moment Seventh Brother arrived in Baili Town in disguise and introduced himself as the young master of the Zhang family in Jiangnan, he had already sent people to investigate their background.
And yet, they simply sat and waited for the enemy, letting time slip away! This mistake was not only irreparable but also utterly foolish! It's easy to imagine that once their identities were exposed, the opportunity they had painstakingly gained, after overcoming numerous obstacles, to catch a glimpse of Seventh Brother's true face would be completely wasted... At this moment of imminent success, they failed at the last hurdle, failed at the very last hurdle!
Turning to look at Feng Chenxi, his face was filled with helplessness and sorrow. At this moment, neither of them could think of any solution, both of them trapped in a dead end, utterly helpless and desperate.
Xiao Nuo smiled wryly, looked away, and turned to look at the woman, muttering, "Seventh Brother, I underestimated you..."
The woman pouted and said, "Brother Zhang, are you saying this because you're blaming me?"
Xiao Nuo shook her head and said, "I don't blame anyone, I only blame..."
Before he could finish speaking, the man in black seemed to sense his guilt and shouted, "Young Master Zhang has been away from home for so long, aren't you eager to see your family?"
Eager to see each other? He wished he would never see each other again! Xiao Nuo smiled bitterly again. There was no turning back now. He looked at Feng Chenxi. The two were of one mind. The moment their eyes met, they decided to strike at the same time to seize the initiative.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, a cold voice suddenly came from inside the sedan chair: "Why would he be in such a hurry to see me? In his heart, he probably wishes he would never have to see me again!"
"How did you know?" As Xiao Nuo blurted out these words, a red figure rushed out of the sedan chair, dashing towards him like a gust of wind. The figure grabbed his ear, pulled him close, and shouted, "How would I know? Do you think I don't know what's going on in your head, you damned devil? Hmph..."
Startled, Xiao Nuo forgot to resist or struggle. He stared blankly as the woman in red opened her blood-red mouth and got closer and closer. Suddenly, she bit him on the face and said in a voice so sweet it would make a deaf person's skin crawl, "I've missed you so much these past few days, my husband."
Husband! Husband! Husband!
Hidden secrets
Husband? This crazy woman called him husband?? Could she be that Mo Pingting??
But how could the real Mo Pingting call Xiao Nuo "husband"? He's clearly a fake...
Xiao Nuo struggled and cried out, "Help! Someone help me pull her away, I can't..."
A thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately interrupted him, saying, "Young Master! Congratulations on your reunion with Madam!" At the same time, I secretly gave Xiao Nuo a wink.
Yes, it all happened too fast, like betting on big or small in the blink of an eye. Whether you bet on big or small directly affects the final outcome.
The reason I decided to continue acting out this script was simply because I saw surprise and mockery in the eyes of the man in black behind Seventh Brother, but no suspicion.
You always have to take a gamble.
Xiao Nuo was an extremely intelligent person, but because the incident happened so suddenly, he was startled. When he heard me say this, he frowned, his lips trembled, and finally, in a distorted voice and a ghostly tone, he cried out in a miserable voice, "Wife..."