"The cost of the table will be deducted from your monthly allowance. At two coins a month, you'll have to stay in the Moonless Palace for at least forty years to pay it off."
I looked at him suspiciously. Was this person really Nangong Ling?
"So I have plenty of time to waste with you."
He narrowed his beautiful phoenix eyes and smiled in a way that sent chills down my spine!
Chapter 8
The next two weeks were neither particularly good nor bad. Nangong Ling stopped coming to check on me every day to make sure I took my medicine, but he did come every day to change the dressing on my hand. He let me rest for a few days before I could return to Qiushui Pavilion.
Unexpectedly, Wei Mama was no longer by Yue Linghe's side; in her place was another woman, Zhao Mama, who looked very gentle.
This Granny Zhao had a very good temper; she taught me everything and was always honest and never made things difficult for me. Later, I found out she was sent from Nangong Ling's side. I asked Granny Wei where she was, but she wouldn't answer. Everyone else in Ye Yuan disliked me, so they wouldn't tell me. I asked Yue Linghe, but she just sighed and wouldn't tell me where she was, so I eventually gave up asking her. When I asked Nangong Ling, he would just look at me with a half-smile, and seeing that made my hair stand on end, I never dared to ask again.
Aside from the mystery surrounding Granny Wei, I've tried my best not to dwell on other minor conflicts, and I've even developed the habit of going to bed early and waking up early.
After I turned twelve, I spent almost all my time running around with my third brother. Back then, the Rong family was very powerful, so I could swagger into casinos and restaurants. Occasionally, I would even dress up as a man and go to brothels. I usually loved visiting various martial arts sects to watch people fight in the arena. I guess I did almost everything except for serious matters. Lin'an City was also a gathering place where heroes from all over the world gathered. Any martial arts practitioner would only shake their head when they mentioned the fourth young lady of the Rong family. Behind her back, they would say that I was uneducated, unruly, and spoiled, and no one would want to marry me. But when they were in front of my father, they didn't dare to say a word. They were all just trying to curry favor with me, this precious gem.
Of course, I still had my status and position back then, but nowadays, who would bother with me?
"What are you daydreaming about? Pack your things in a bit, we're going to Bieyun Manor tomorrow."
"Huh? I'm going too?"
“The master of Bieyun Manor invited Ling’er, so of course you have to go and serve her.”
I touched my nose, wondering if it was the Biyun Villa I was thinking of. So, with a tiny glimmer of hope, I asked.
Which Bieyun Manor?
Sure enough, he raised his eyes and smiled like a fox, "What do you think? How many Bieyun Manor villas are there in Bieyun Mountain?"
Actually, if you count on your fingers, there's only one.
"Can we not go?" I looked at him. He didn't seem to have been holding a grudge against me lately, and that little bit of superiority in my heart quietly resurfaced.
"Okay." He continued with a smile, "Beg me, beg me and I'll let you not go."
I lowered my eyes. It's the same old routine again. Can't you come up with something new? Besides, you're way too far off for me to ask for favors! I stood up and walked into the inner room, leaving him outside.
Once I calmed down, I realized what a suicidal thing I'd just done, and a chill ran down my spine as I broke out in a cold sweat. But after waiting a while, he didn't chase after me, and when I looked outside, there wasn't a soul in sight! This wasn't normal, it was extremely abnormal. Either I'd taken the wrong medication recently, or he had…
The next morning, I was quite stunned when I saw the escorting army. Just how favored was Yue Linghe? Needless to say, the four protectors were going to accompany Nangong Ling, but why were even the eldest, second, and third disciples of the Nangong family here? Was it really necessary to go to Bieyun Manor? Years ago, when I went to cause trouble for the Twins, I didn't bring so many people with me. I only had my second brother, fourth senior brother, and fifth senior brother with me.
"Stop dawdling and get in the carriage quickly, or it won't be a joke to keep the Palace Master waiting." Zhao Mama behind me pushed me into the carriage.
"Yue Ling... Where is Miss Yue?" Why are there only the nanny and me in the carriage?
"Miss and the Palace Master are in the same carriage. Didn't you see that Young Master Jing and the others are in the front?"
"But isn't this car for ladies?" I used to ride in this kind of car when I went out, but how can I ride in this car now?
"Yes, it's Miss's car. If the Palace Master and the Protectors are discussing matters on the way, Miss will need to return."
Oh, I shook my head, feeling sleepy. I'm still not fully awake.
"Granny, I'm going to take a nap first."
Granny Zhao smiled gently and even covered me with a thin blanket, so I went to sleep contentedly.
Because we were traveling slowly, the ride wasn't too bumpy. Besides, the Purple Feather Carriage was covered with thick felt, so I slept soundly all the way to the inn where we stayed.
When I woke up, I was already in my room. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
"Miss, you're awake?" Granny Zhao pushed open the door and came in, carrying a steaming bowl of porridge. "You missed lunch, would you like something to eat now?"
I looked up, puzzled. "Wasn't I sleeping in the car?"
"The Palace Mistress carried you up here." She placed the porridge on the table.
I was so surprised that my mouth was open and the sound got stuck in my throat.
"Get up quickly, or I'll report you for slacking off and put it on your record."
As she spoke, she came over to fetch water for me. I snapped out of my daze and immediately jumped off the bed. I couldn't stand being waited on by others under Nangong Ling's watchful eye.
Chapter 9
For the next few days, I didn't see the people from the first two cars. Apart from serving Yue Linghe when I stayed at the inn, including getting her dressed early in the morning and keeping watch at night, I wasn't responsible for anything else. When it was time to eat, the masters were all served by the three young brothers, so no one else had a turn. And since I was on night watch, I ended up living a completely reversed day and night schedule.
When we arrived in Anqing that day, I was half asleep, curled up in the carriage with a thin blanket, when the carriage stopped.
"Wake up, we've arrived." Granny Zhao's gentle voice rang out as she patted my face.
Reluctantly, I got out of the carriage. The moment my feet touched the ground, I sensed something was wrong. I looked up sharply and saw that Nangong Ling and the others had gotten out of the carriage but hadn't gone into the inn. Instead, they were standing there, attracting the attention of passersby, but their eyes seemed fixed on me. I instinctively felt something was wrong, and then I heard a whoosh of wind beside my ear. My heart skipped a beat, and I reflexively jumped back. Where I had just been standing, a figure in blue had appeared, still holding the jade flute in its hand, its momentum undiminished.
When I saw who it was, my heart skipped a beat. This was bad news. This year was my unlucky year; everything that was going to bother me was coming to pass.
The long, azure robe and the white jade flute, the fair and refined face with its sharp, eagle-like eyes—who else could it be but Luo Qiu of the Heavenly Annihilation Sect?
"I finally caught him." He smiled, his eyes crinkling, but his gaze was icy.
I raised my chin, disgusted by the way he looked at me like I was prey. Seeing my provocation, his expression immediately darkened, and he raised his jade flute, extending it towards me again.
"Come with me to see the cult leader."
How annoying! I dodged his flute and frowned. I regretted not having a sword, otherwise I would have chopped his flute in two.
"Who wants to go and die like this!"
Do you think I'm an idiot? Go see your Heavenly Annihilation Sect leader? That damned, immortal guy, he'd grind me to dust!
I grabbed an umbrella at random. The other vendors had already packed up and run away the moment Luo Qiu uttered his first words. Only this umbrella seller was moving incredibly slowly, but now was not the time to worry about that. The biggest crisis at hand was Luo Qiu. His flute was notoriously difficult to deal with. In his hands, the flute could become a sharp sword. He poured his profound inner strength into the jade flute, making the wind from it capable of cutting through the air wherever it went.
How could an ordinary umbrella withstand Luo Qiu's jade flute? After a few moves, only the umbrella ribs remained. He attacked with the flute in his left hand, while his right hand, clenched into an eagle claw, aimed to grab my shoulder. This move was swift and ruthless, and I could only use the umbrella ribs to block his flute. I shrank my shoulder, but unexpectedly, his hand slid downwards, intending to grab my hand; the previous move was just a feint. His change was too fast; just as I was about to be grabbed by my sleeve, a gust of wind suddenly blew, swatting his hand away.
Luo Qiu reacted quickly, immediately withdrawing his hand, but the wind was too strong and still cut a bloody gash on the back of his hand. He turned his head and looked at Nangong Ling with icy eyes.
Nangong Ling leaned against the inn's door, the furthest from us, watching with a nonchalant smile the entire time, his posture unchanged. If it were an ordinary person, after a fight, one would at least notice some flaws, but with Nangong Ling, it was hard to say. His moves were always invisible and intangible; in other words, they were entirely up to him. Anything in his hands could become a deadly weapon. He even had the ingenious idea of using the wind as a sword and the rain as an inexhaustible source of hidden weapons. How many could escape the wind blades and needle rain he created? His speed was so fast it was invisible, making it difficult to determine if it was Nangong Ling who made the move unless he himself confirmed it.
“Sage Luo, really, is it really worth fighting in front of everyone for this spendthrift Rong Lian?” Cang Zhe, one of the four protectors, spoke up.
Luo Qiu looked at him and saw that the sword in his hand was already drawn. His eyes sharpened and he realized that the gust of wind just now was sent by him with sword energy.
"What does the affairs of this sect have to do with the Moonless Palace?"
"How can it be unrelated?" Cang Zhe raised an eyebrow. His features were delicate yet extremely flamboyant, and he spoke with particular arrogance. "She was brought back by our Palace Master to serve Miss. Of course, she's from the Wuyue Palace. How could your sect leader just take her as he pleases?"
Luo Qiu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I was wondering why Nangong Ling didn't kill you with one blow. Turns out he had something even more ruthless in treating you like a maid..."
You don't need to say it again. I reached out to grab the umbrella but grabbed nothing. I turned my head in surprise... That old guy is faster than anyone else now. He rolled up his umbrella and disappeared in a flash. I was so angry that I chopped down a wooden frame on the spot.
"Tsk tsk, still as irritable as ever... a piece of rotten wood." Luo Qiu shook his head. "I wonder if the Palace Master could hand this piece of rotten wood over to my teaching?"
"If it's rotten wood that can't be carved, what use would it be to you, Brother Jun Guan?" Nangong Ling was very curious, so he smiled in a particularly harmless way.
"The leader said that although the fourth young lady of the Rong family is a hopeless case and has an unusually spoiled temperament, just based on her former status as the fourth young lady of the Rong family and her face, she is pleasing to the eye and not tiresome to look at. A sparrow that climbs a high branch can never compare to a phoenix that falls from a branch."
"You immortal Jun Guan, I should have killed you with a single sword back then!" I glared at Luo Qiu, my anger blazing, when I suddenly caught a glimpse of Yue Linghe's deathly pale face behind Qiong Ying, as if she were about to collapse.
"Oh?" The simple sound uttered by Nangong Ling was as captivating as if it had been adorned with many ornate decorations. "I thought Rong Lian was a useless person, but I didn't expect that she would have such a use in Brother Jun Guan's eyes?"
These people don't even need to lift a finger; just the anger alone is enough to kill them!
"This can be considered useful? It's no different from a decorative painting that's completely unnecessary..."
"Is this ever going to end?" I raised an eyebrow, extremely annoyed.
Nangong Ling chuckled, a knowing look on his face. "You couldn't hold back after just a few words?"
I bit my lip and looked at Luo Qiu. "Go tell your dead man cult leader that he should be grateful for my mercy in not killing him with one sword back then. How could he say such a thing? Is that dead man illiterate or what? Doesn't he know how to write the four characters 'gratitude and repay kindness'?"
The fact that I dared to say those words in front of Nangong Ling under those circumstances was absolutely because I was furious, but it was also absolutely, positively, a death sentence for myself.
Luo Qiu stared at me blankly for a while, then murmured, "As the leader wisely instructed, a phoenix is indeed a phoenix..."
"But this phoenix is unruly and cannot be tamed by ordinary people. If you had taken her back to the Heavenly Annihilation Sect before I brought her into the Moonless Palace, I would naturally have been unable to interfere. But now that she is trying to leave my Moonless Palace, it would be bad for you. I will definitely present her to you when I have the right opportunity."
A soft voice drifted over, tinged with a hint of laughter. If you ignored the content of the words, it could make you feel relaxed and at ease. But the content of the words was clearly unpleasant to me no matter how I listened to it.
"Miss?!...Palace Master, Miss...she's fainted..." Zhao Mama's voice broke the tense atmosphere.
I don't need to elaborate on Yue Linghe's importance; you can tell from the instant everyone's attention shifted. I twitched my lips, feeling a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it.
Luo Qiu sneered and leaned closer, then whispered a thunderbolt in my ear before leaving.
"The leader has arrived at Bieyun Manor."
Chapter 10
Granny Zhao brought in some osmanthus glutinous rice cakes. "Why are you so downcast?"