Ning Xian woke up groggily, her mind still foggy from being unconscious for so long. After a few moments of confusion, the images from before she was knocked out slowly came into focus—Yu Lin, the lakeside, the bottom of the water, the phoenix… and then the gandharva and ginger soup—ginger soup!
That transvestite Gandharva dared to scheme against her!?
She suddenly sat up, only to find her hands and feet weak. Clenching her fists, she secretly circulated her internal energy. Indeed, it wasn't just because she hadn't eaten anything; she wondered what the Gandharva had given her to drink. She looked around at her surroundings; it seemed to be an ordinary person's bedroom, neither in the sect nor the Bai family's. She had already changed her clothes, so she picked up the light purple outer garment hanging by the bed, put it on, and left the room.
Pushing open the door, a garden appeared before me, and to my astonishment, it was filled entirely with hibiscus. Pink and white hibiscus bloomed among the lush green leaves, filling the entire garden.
It seems the owner here really likes hibiscus. In most people's gardens, hibiscus is used only as an embellishment or decoration, planted along roadsides or against walls. I've never seen anyone plant it all over the garden like this. Now that I've seen it, I can only say that the effect... is really not as good as planting something else.
"Judging from your expression, it seems you don't quite like the hibiscus here?"
Suddenly a voice sounded from behind her. She turned around and saw a young man in white standing against the wall outside the room she had just left. "I heard you won't wake up until tomorrow or the day after. Luckily I came early to wait and see, otherwise I would have really missed the chance to meet you alone for the first time."
Ning Xian thought to herself that the Gandharva's drug was truly ruthless. Fortunately, she hadn't drunk it all, but the residual effects of the drug had dulled her senses considerably. She hadn't even noticed this grown man standing outside the door. She carefully examined him. He was indeed handsome, with a face that bore a five-point resemblance to Bai Mo, but their temperaments were different. He was younger and more unrestrained. If Bai Mo was a light ink landscape painting, then he was undoubtedly a freehand landscape painting, splashing ink with abandon.
With a face like that, his identity is not hard to guess. It's just that the ambiguous smile on his face makes it difficult to tell whether he's friend or foe.
"—You, are you that Bai something-something number two?"
"—" Bai Yan's ambiguous smile froze for a moment—is that how you address someone?
He looked into Ning Xian's eyes and then became slightly serious. He looked her over for a moment and chuckled, "She does look like a beautiful wife, but... she doesn't seem to be the same kind of person as my old-fashioned older brother."
"Thank you for the compliment..." Who wants to travel with him?
Bai Yan straightened up and slowly took two steps to stand next to her, looking at the hibiscus in the garden but not at her. "What a pity. I thought my elder brother would marry a girl from a modest family. That way, I could bully her."
Ning Xian glanced at him unexpectedly—how could two children from the same mother have such different personalities?
Where is this place?
“The Bai family has a separate residence in Jiangcheng. A few days ago, my elder brother helped me deliver a batch of goods, but he was robbed on the way. I thought the thieves were trying to extort money from me by delaying his release, so I even prepared the money. After waiting for all this time, he suddenly returned—with someone else in tow.” He looked at Ning Xian inquisitively, “I wonder where my sister-in-law comes from?”
Ning Xian pretended not to hear the question and asked only, "Where is Bai Mo?"
"Anyway, my sister-in-law won't wake up for another two days... My brother has gone out—" He moved closer, his tone slightly ambiguous, and said, "This is Jiangcheng. I don't need to tell you where my brother will go, do I?"
Jiangcheng? Hmm...I think I've heard something about it...uh...ah! I've got it—
"His mistress?" Ugh! What a waste of his time, he'd rather come back to see his mistress than bring her along.
Bai Yan observed her reaction, feeling a mixture of disappointment and amusement. "Wasn't your reaction a little too bland, sister-in-law?"
"Uh? What else?"
Bai Yan looked bored. "Your husband abandoned you while you were still unconscious to go meet your lover, and your sister-in-law's reaction was really calm."
Ning Xian continued to pretend he hadn't heard, as discussing his attitude with him was pointless.
"Did you plant these hibiscus?"
"You could say that. I'm in charge here in Beppu. What I had people plant is naturally considered to be planted by me."
"Do you like hibiscus that much?" Ning Xian looked at him strangely, her gaze implying that a field full of hibiscus really wasn't very aesthetically pleasing.
Bai Yan replied with an enigmatic smile, “Hibiscus is very nice. It looks beautiful and its colors are vibrant, but it’s delicate and fragile, as if it could be easily destroyed with just a touch—sister-in-law, don’t you think? To be honest, what surprised me is that hibiscus and sister-in-law are actually quite a good match.”
"..."
Unfortunately, she wasn't such a "delicate" person.
Ning Xian now has serious doubts about the Bai family's educational policies.
...
Since lotus is also known as hibiscus, it should be noted here that the hibiscus flower mentioned in the text refers to:
【Chinese alternative names】Hibiscus, Hibiscus mutabilis, Frost-resistant flower, Three-change flower, Drunken hibiscus, Three-drunken hibiscus
[Classification] Malvaceae, Hibiscus
Chapter 42 The Mistress Makes Her Appearance
"I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"
"..."
...Sister-in-law, are you missing a screw?
"That's right, my sister-in-law hasn't eaten in a long time. I'll tell the kitchen to prepare something right away."
From the moment the servants prepared the meal until Ning Xian finished eating, Bai Yan's eyes almost never left her, filled with dissatisfaction, inquiry, contemplation, amusement... and ill intent.
She's already full, so can she just slam the table and overturn the bowl? Point her finger at his nose and yell: "Bai Er, if you look at me again, I'll dig your XX out and XXX!" —She's already confronted Bai Mo, but is it okay to let the Bai family know her true colors? Won't it expose her parents' secrets? Or maybe after teaching him a lesson, she'll just kill him to silence him, so that nothing gets into the Bai family and everything will be peaceful…
Completely unaware of what she was thinking, Bai Yan waved for the servants to remove the remaining food. Suddenly, he pulled her up, startling Ning Xian—so even the Bai family had someone so unreserved? She was nominally his sister-in-law, wasn't she?
"Doesn't my sister-in-law want to meet 'that person'?" I wonder if she would still be as indifferent as she is now if she did meet him.
"Isn't your older brother still there? Isn't this too much of a disturbance? Aren't you afraid your older brother will scold you for taking me there?"
"I was lying to you. I sent my brother to help out at the Chamber of Commerce. You'll have plenty of time to meet that woman who stole your husband—"
...Although she wasn't entirely uninterested, she'd rather eat more and build up her strength to go back to the Demonic Sect and settle scores with those demons than see that woman.
"—What exactly are you planning? We've only just met, we're not that close enough for you to 'help' me for free, are we?"