As Ye Qinghua said, he was right: the more a man appears to be pure and detached from worldly desires, the more frivolous he is deep down.
The fierce battle at Lake Moon Manor feels like a distant memory.
Lan Wuxie stopped mentioning the past, and Hua Chongyang assumed he had always been Lan Wuxie, and never Zu Xian. However, it was clear that Lan Wuxie's health was just as poor as Zu Xian's; he coughed intermittently all day. After bathing, the two ate breakfast in the pavilion. Lan Cao came in several times and whispered something to Lan Wuxie. Hua Chongyang pretended not to see, focusing on eating his own food. After Lan Cao left, he served Lan Wuxie some red dates from his porridge.
"Eat more red dates."
Lan Wuxie glanced at the red dates in the bowl, her eyes crinkling with laughter:
"Chongyang still cares for me the most."
Hua Chongyang continued his efforts:
"There's also a longan."
Lan Wuxie paused, her hand holding the white jade spoon still, and frowned at the bowl of porridge:
"I don't like eating this."
"This can nourish the body and replenish qi and blood."
"It smells medicinal. I don't like it."
Hua Chongyang raised an eyebrow and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. Lan Wuxie sat in the sunlight, his long black and gold robe trailing on the ground, revealing a snow-white undergarment, loosely tied braids, thick, black hair like jade, and a snow-white face. In the golden morning light, the light in his eyes was exceptionally soft as he looked directly at Hua Chongyang, his expression showing difficulty.
"……never mind."
Hua Chongyang sighed, and finally reached out with his spoon to scoop up the longan and put it in his mouth.
Lan Wuxie looked at her, then suddenly put down his spoon:
"I want to eat it too."
Hua Chongyang froze, the longan still in her mouth, a round puff forming on her cheek. Lan Wuxie stood up, reached across the table, grabbed her chin, and bit down. Before she knew it, Hua Chongyang was on his lap, only the pit of the longan remaining. Lan Wuxie smiled and looked up, his thumb slowly wiping his lips. Hua Chongyang blushed crimson from the kiss and his lecherous gaze. In a panic, she swallowed the longan pit with a "gulp." Enraged, she punched Lan Wuxie's shoulder.
"It's all your fault!"
Lan Wuxie held her, smiling slightly, and only gently patted her back after she punched him a few times.
"It's my fault, it's all my fault. How does Chongyang intend to punish me?"
Hua Chongyang blushed instantly upon seeing his gaze, and reached out to pinch his cheeks:
"You pervert!"
Lan Wuxie grabbed her hand with one hand and supported her waist with the other, smiling broadly. He seemed to have the best temper imaginable.
Let me tell you a story.
Hua Chongyang curiously let go of his hand and wrapped both arms around his neck:
"Um?"
Lan Wuxie coughed lightly, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea, and said softly:
Once upon a time, there was a girl who was very beautiful.
With just one sentence, Hua Chongyang smiled.
She had always felt that neither Lan Wuxie nor Zu Xian spoke much, and when they did, it was always just a few dry words—except, of course, when they were teasing her. She just hadn't expected that even when telling a story, he would be so dry, describing a girl's beauty with just a simple "very beautiful." She wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with a strand of hair at his temple, and deliberately asked:
How good-looking is it?
Lan Wuxie glanced at her, smiled slightly, and answered very seriously:
"No one in the world is more beautiful than her."
Hua Chongyang gave a disdainful look, secretly delighted. Lan Wuxie, supporting her waist, lingered on her, and continued speaking somewhat casually:
Later, someone fell in love with her.
He spoke, then stared at her face, lost in thought. Hua Chongyang's face flushed slightly, but she remained silent. After a moment of distraction, she gently stroked her face with her fingers.
"He liked her and always wanted to see her. Once, he went to see the girl and happened to find her taking a bath."
"……"
"He's never been with any woman, but it was then that he realized some people are simply irresistible." Lan Wuxie's voice was slightly hoarse as he stroked her hair, speaking each word carefully, "Unfortunately, at that time, that girl didn't know who he was."
Lan Wuxie's confession was both affectionate and honest, but Hua Chongyang seemed unable to hear the affectionate "I must have her," only the honest "I've never had a woman," and he grabbed Lan Wuxie's face, pressing her for answers:
"Have you been with many women?"
Lan Wuxie didn't answer, but simply lowered his head and picked up his teacup to drink. Hua Chongyang looked at him, his eyes narrowed with a sour expression, and asked himself:
"In Hangzhou, most of the beauties have been to the pleasure boats, and they all come back praising how incredibly affectionate Master Lan was in bed."
Lan Wuxie remained silent, seemingly focused on drinking his tea. Hua Chongyang glared at him fiercely for a long time, about to explode, when he saw Lan Cao peeking out from the corridor outside the pavilion.
Pretending not to see it now would be incredibly shameless. She removed Lan Wuxie's arms from her embrace and stood up on her own.
"Something seems to have happened to the orchid."
After saying that, she left Lan Wuxie behind and turned to walk out of the pavilion.
Lan Wuxie seemed about to get up and chase after her, but after glancing at Lan Cao outside, he walked straight over:
"Sect Master."
"What's up?"
Under the corridor, Hua Chongyang strolled along casually, and following the sound of the wind, he could faintly hear the words "Situ Qingliu" and "Rong Chenfei" drifting out from the low voice of the orchid.
She walked back into the house without looking back. The room was slightly warm, even though it had warmed up considerably by tomorrow, Lan Wuxie's body was still icy cold at night, indicating that his internal injuries had accumulated to a great extent. The Lan Ying Palace, which had always been hidden in the martial world, had made a high-profile appearance in the martial world. Hua Chongyang was not naive enough to think that Lan Wuxie would stop there, especially since he had suffered such serious injuries at Lake Moon Manor.
Many things are important and worth her time to think about carefully, such as what she should do in the future, what will happen to Lan Wuxie in the future, what will happen to the Martial Alliance in the future, and so on. Each of these questions is enough to give her a headache for half a day.
But at this moment, her mind was filled with that incredibly pointless question from earlier—
Lan Wuxie has many women.
31. Leafy Green Flower
Hua Chongyang started a cold war with Lan Wuxie because he was jealous.
She was well aware of how bored she was.
With his looks, his aura, and his martial arts skills, even if he were a dry-tongued man who couldn't charm girls, if he walked down the streets of Hangzhou, half the city's women would probably be crying and begging to follow him, throwing themselves at him like their lives depended on it. So, what did she have to complain about?
But just a moment ago, Hua Chongyang was telling himself this, but the next moment, seeing Lan Wuxie's face, as beautiful as spring water reflecting pear blossoms, he felt uneasy. After speaking with Lan Cao, Lan Wuxie returned to the house to find Hua Chongyang. Hua Chongyang leaned lazily against the wooden couch, his face turned inward, and said perfunctorily:
"...I'm sleepy."
She could clearly feel that Lan Wuxie's hand on her shoulder was a little stiff.
But the thought of Lan Wuxie touching other women with those hands sent her into a frenzy of anger, and she closed her eyes with a huff. Lan Wuxie remained silent for a moment, his voice still gentle:
"Then take a nap."
He carefully removed her boots from behind, pulled the soft quilt over her, and even loosened the braid on her head. But the gentler he was, the more annoyed Hua Chongyang became, so she simply covered her head with the quilt, cleared her mind, and actually went to sleep. She slept until noon, when she groggily woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw Lan Wuxie sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning against the armrest, one hand on his knee and the other holding a book. He turned a page, glanced at her, and upon noticing she was awake, immediately began to smile.
"Are you awake?"
He put down the book in his hand, sat up straight, and reached out to hook his arm around her waist. Hua Chongyang frowned, sat up abruptly, and got out of bed to put on his shoes, muttering to himself as he did so:
"I'm so thirsty."
He put on his shoes, stood up, walked to the table, picked up the teapot, poured himself a full bowl of tea, drank it all in one gulp, and then walked out without looking back, calling out as he went:
"Orchid, when is lunchtime? I'm so hungry."
Lan Wuxie sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at her back.
At lunchtime, Lan Wuxie diligently piled delicious dishes onto Hua Chongyang's plate, but Hua Chongyang ignored them all, avoiding the dishes Lan Wuxie offered and shoveling rice into his mouth. While eating, he looked up and talked to Lan Cao, who had brought the dishes:
"Lan Cao, that short sword you're wearing is really nice. Where did you buy it?"
Lan Cao, oblivious to the awkwardness between Lan Wuxie and Hua Chongyang, smiled and held up the short sword:
"Right by West Lake, at a small stall. They look nice, but the blades are actually quite poor; only the scabbards are flashy and attractive."
Hua Chongyang looked very interested:
"West Lake? I'll go for a stroll there this afternoon."
Upon hearing this, Lan Wuxie put down her chopsticks and smiled gently.
"I can accompany you on the Double Ninth Festival--"
"Lan Cao, are you free?" Hua Chongyang ignored Lan Wuxie and addressed Lan Cao directly, "Would you come with me to look for her?"
Lan Cao glanced at Lan Wuxie's gradually cooling expression, then at Hua Chongyang's indifferent face, and realized that she had unwittingly become a pitiful pawn. She turned and hurriedly ran away.
"...Uh, um, Miss Chongyang, I...I have other things to take care of this afternoon, so I'm afraid I won't be able to keep you company..."
With a whoosh, the orchid turned into wisps of smoke and slipped out of the pavilion.
Lan Wuxie's expression remained stiff, but she still managed to smile at Hua Chongyang.
"You like short swords? I know a shop in Hangzhou—"
"Ah, I'm full." Hua Chongyang put down his chopsticks without even looking at him, glanced at the sun outside, and then stretched.
"I'm so sleepy, I'm going to take a nap."
She stood up and went straight back into the house without looking back.
Lan Wuxie's smile finally faltered. He stared at her retreating figure, stood up, flicked his sleeves, and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.
Spring had clearly arrived, but the garden behind Banlianzui was still bitterly cold, like winter. Hua Chongyang was nestled inside, taking a very comfortable afternoon nap, while several servants of Banlianzui stood trembling at the door of the study, constantly hearing the clanging and banging sounds of things breaking inside.
With a "whoosh," Lan Cao, standing at the doorway, shuddered violently. The tall, sturdy orchid tree beside her also closed its eyes, peering tentatively into the study, muttering softly:
"You smashed the teapot again?"
The orchid closes its eyes in despair:
"...This is the third one this afternoon. Tell Anping to go out and buy a few more sets later to have on hand."
"Sigh." Lan Shu sighed, scratching her head. "What's wrong? I haven't lost my temper in ages—"
Before he could finish speaking, the study door was kicked open from the inside, and Lan Wuxie's angry face appeared before the two trembling orchids and orchid trees:
Orchid.
"...Yes, Master."
"Bring some other tea. Why did you buy such awful tea!"