Beggar Travels the World

Chapter 10

The water in the bathtub was no longer on her mind whether he had left or not. She stared intently at a pile of light-colored clothes on the screen. The top piece, in terms of color, material, style, and pattern, was a...

A pink and white strapless top!

Baili Qingyi's nonchalant voice lingered in her ear:

"These are clean clothes that Uncle Jiao specially prepared for you."

You absolutely must change into it.

Did they... already know she was a woman?

Having finally regained her senses, she slowly turned around and leaned against the edge of the bathtub, resting her chin on her hand and pondering.

For a mere beggar like her to attract such attention from the Baili family, there's more to it than meets the eye...

Sigh, does she really have to change into women's clothing to face them? She was racking her brains.

Who is Nongyu?

heartbroken,

The embroidered curtain is rolled up.

I wish I were a swallow on the beam.

We meet every day and night.

Do not let favors change and feelings shift.

"I wish I could be a swallow on the beam..." A middle-aged woman with a striking appearance stood with her hands behind her back at the very front of the small boat. The river wind made her red dress flutter in the wind. Between her brows was a trace of vicissitude, a trace of pity, a trace of aloofness, and a trace of coldness, which was hard to describe.

"What is Madam reciting?" One of the two maids carrying tea behind her was more daring and curious.

The middle-aged woman seemed quite serene, simply saying, "These are phrases from the Central Plains; you wouldn't understand them."

The maid pouted and said, "Lianhua naturally wouldn't understand. People from the Central Plains speak in such complicated ways, always using such flowery, birdy, windy, and watery language."

Another maid hurriedly pinched her: "What do you know? Don't spoil the lady's enjoyment!"

The middle-aged woman smiled and said, "Zhao Shui is right. You ungrateful girl, why don't you slap yourself!"

Lianhua trembled, glancing unwillingly at Zhaoshui, then at the middle-aged woman who seemed anything but joking. She had no choice but to obediently raise her hand and slap her delicate, flawless cheek hard. One red handprint after another was left on her cheek. She gritted her teeth but dared not stop, for her master had not told her to.

The middle-aged woman glanced at it with interest, then looked bored. However, instead of stopping, she called out to those behind her, "No fault!"

A man flew over and gently landed on the bow of the boat. His right sleeve fluttered in the wind, but it was empty inside.

"Has the matter at Flower Fort been resolved?"

"As Madam wishes, the lord of Huajian Fortress shall be beheaded, the women of his family shall each lose a foot, the men shall each lose an arm, and the servants shall be unharmed."

"Well done." The middle-aged woman nodded slightly. "We must let the people of the Central Plains know the consequences of being heartless, cold-hearted, and speaking rudely."

"Madam, further downstream lies the territory of the Qiao Gang, as you see..."

"The Qiao Gang?" The middle-aged woman cast a cold gaze into the distance. After a while, she suddenly became angry and cursed, "You lowly servant, stop it! You're making a racket. Are you deliberately trying to trigger my mental illness?"

“Madam…” Lianhua was already crying. Her beautiful face was swollen like a pig’s head, but she still stared blankly, unaware of what kind of future awaited her.

"Zhao Shui, cut off one of this lowly maid's fingers!" She turned and left.

Zhao Shui calmly turned to Lian Hua, who was nearly dizzy from shock, and sighed, "You know how unpredictable Madam's temper is, how could she still talk nonsense? I can only apologize."

"Sister Zhaoshui!" Lianhua was terrified and heartbroken, and knelt down heavily. "Please have mercy, sister. I won't do it again, I won't do it again!"

Zhao Shui did not respond.

A moment later, a woman's scream echoed through the sky from the calm, waveless river.

※※ ※

Hesitantly, he stepped into the hall and bumped into the Baili brothers, who were missing one member: Baili Hanyi, Tieyi, and Ziyi.

Thank goodness, Shui Wu'er breathed a sigh of relief. She just didn't want to see Baili Qingyi, especially under these circumstances.

Upon seeing her, Baili Hanyi took two steps forward in surprise, revealing something hanging behind him. "You are…"

Shui Wu'er glanced casually behind him, and was shocked by what she saw. She turned around and left.

"Young lady, please wait!" The three brothers behind her called out urgently at the same time.

"Little girl?" She frowned deeply. Unaccustomed to the three of them being so polite to her, she didn't know whether to leave or stay.

"Young lady, you're not from this manor, are you?" Baili Hanyi approached her with the demeanor of a gentle young master, but the look in his eyes was anything but simple.

Huh? She looked at him in surprise. Didn't he recognize her? "Um, no..."

Baili Tieyi shoved him aside and laughed, "Of course she's not from our manor. When did such a beautiful little girl come to our manor? Little sister, how old are you? You're so cute..."

"Heavenly Immortal..." Shui Wu'er gasped, her eyes widening as she took two steps back, narrowly avoiding Baili Tieyi's disgustingly large face, but unable to escape the goosebumps that spread all over her body like bamboo shoots after a rain.

As expected, the treatment of beggars and celestial beings was vastly different. She still remembered how Baili Tieyi had lectured her before.

Baili Hanyi glared at her younger brother quickly, then asked, "May I ask the young lady's name?"

"Ahem..." She cleared her throat, but her gaze involuntarily drifted behind him. Shouldn't... be alright?

"Shui Wu'er".

"..."

"Shui Wu'er!" Baili Tieyi hurriedly cupped his chin. "You mean, the little beggar among the big and small beggars living in our house?"

What do you mean, "the smallest beggar among beggars"? She rolled her eyes. She looked younger than You'er when she was dressed as a man, but in fact, she was six years older than him. If she had married at a normal age, she would be a mother of several children by now.

After the initial shock, Baili Hanyi merely frowned slightly, deep in thought. Baili Ziyi, however, said coldly from behind, "It's not like Third Brother just found out she's a woman."

Just as she expected!

Baili Tieyi said with a wronged expression, "I knew she was a woman, but how could I have known that changing her appearance would make such a big difference..."

"Hey, hey," Shui Wu'er finally couldn't help but tap his elbow in annoyance, "What do you mean by 'changed skin'?"

"Hmm..." Baili Tieyi realized he had used the wrong words and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Second Brother, don't you think she looks familiar?" Baili Ziyi asked casually.

"Yes, somewhat. Miss Shui, have we met once before?" Baili Hanyi nodded.

Shui Wu'er felt a chill run down her spine and hurriedly shook her head: "No. If I, a little beggar, had ever met someone like Young Master Hanyi, I would definitely remember him."

Does Baili Ziyi, that brat, have to be so incisive in every word he says?

“I think Miss Shui’s figure is seven or eight parts similar to the person in this portrait,” Baili Ziyi pointed out again.

here we go again!

Shui Wu'er suddenly had a strong urge to sew his mouth shut. Maybe the reason his legs were crippled was because his overly large mouth revealed secrets and he was interrupted! Hmph!

"Brother, what do you think?" he said unexpectedly to her from behind.

Shui Wu'er froze.

The person behind him casually brushed off the question: "Is this the portrait of Miss Yin?"

“Not bad.” Baili Hanyi nodded.

Shui Wu'er turned around without changing her expression: "Young Master in Green, ... Uncle Jiao."

"Wow!" Uncle Jiao rushed over with a look of surprise and circled around her: "You, you, you're really that dirty, smelly tomboy?"

It was unbelievable! The graceful woman standing there wore a light red dress with snow-white lotus petals embroidered on the sleeves and hem. She had a beautiful figure, fragrant cheeks, arched eyebrows, bright eyes, and full, rosy lips—she was like a crystal doll, exquisitely beautiful. Her phoenix eyes, however, were remarkably harmonious, balancing her youthful features and adding a touch of leisurely composure. This girl was not as stunningly beautiful as the eldest daughter of the Yuwen family, nor as radiant as the second daughter, yet her clear eyes shone like spring blossoms. She possessed a calm and unrestrained elegance that the old man had never seen in any woman in his life, as if… as if Tao Yuanming, who was picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, had transformed into a woman and stepped down from the screen in the hall.

A sharp, eagle-like glint flashed in Baili Qingyi's eyes for a fleeting moment, but it was only for a split second. He stared at her for a while before quickly shifting his attention.

"This painting..."

“Indeed,” Baili Hanyi said with a wry smile, “This painting won’t be of much help. I never expected that the one and only portrait of Miss Yin in the world would be…”

It had no face.

In the painting, Yin Wuxiao has hair like a black waterfall, skin like solidified cream, a graceful and well-proportioned figure, light and opaque clothing, and a slightly tilted head. However, his face is blank, without any facial features, which is quite incongruous.

"Miss Yin has never shown her true face to anyone. This painting was done by her close friend, Miss Shi Mansi. According to Miss Shi, this painting was done when Miss Yin was 16 years old, which is 6 years ago now."

"Could this Miss Shi be deliberately playing us for a fool?" Baili Tieyi thought resentfully.

"Probably not." Baili Hanyi shook her head. "Miss Shi and Miss Yin are like sisters, and their care for each other is evident in their words."

"Then, shall we go and ask her to paint another one?"

“No need.” Baili Qingyi calmly stopped her. “Miss Shi’s shrewdness is renowned throughout the world. If she truly wanted us to see Miss Yin’s true colors, she would not have handed over this painting without any explanation, unless… there is another secret hidden in this painting.”

He heard a barely audible cough and raised his eyebrows to look. Only Shui Wu'er had her head bowed low.

"Second and fourth brothers, you two met Miss Yin once before, what do you think?"

Huh? Shui Wu'er looked up in slight surprise.

Baili Hanyi smiled bitterly: "We were separated by an entire street that day, and she was wearing a veil. How could that be considered a fleeting encounter?"

"So, in your opinion, what is Miss Yin's temperament like?"

"His talent is unparalleled, that goes without saying. His personality is a bit arrogant, but he is also a reasonable person. Moreover, he speaks and acts very decisively, without any pedantry."

Baili Ziyi then interjected, "I think what's worth pondering is her absolute attitude towards Qingyi." As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Shui Wu'er.

"What attitude?"

Baili Hanyi said, "I feel the same way. At the Yunge Poetry Competition that day, everyone in the world witnessed Miss Yin's talent. Qingyi was absolutely brilliant and should not have been able to stump her."

“There’s another point. When she conceded defeat, she was distracted and muttered to herself, saying only, ‘I can’t do it,’ instead of ‘I can’t do it.’” Baili Ziyi’s gaze toward Shui Wu’er grew increasingly cold.

"You mean... she doesn't lack the ability to answer, but rather she's afraid to answer?"

Baili Tieyi interrupted, shouting, "I told you long ago, brother, you're just bored out of your mind. Why did you bother with this 'Qingyi Jue' thing? It's all because of that time when you were twenty-two..."

"Ironclad!" Baili Qingyi shouted in a deep voice to stop him. His voice was not loud, but it was powerful and effectively stopped Baili Tieyi from opening his mouth.