Husband-stealing story

Chapter 3

Tang Shijiu felt so wronged that all he wanted to do was curse.

The winding mountain path was particularly difficult to traverse. When they had carried thirty loads, a small tail suddenly appeared behind them. Tang Shijiu turned around and saw it was her junior brother, Tian Man, who had just turned eleven. Tian Man lowered his head and said softly, "Senior sister, I believe you won't hurt senior brother."

Tang Shijiu looked up at the sky and roared, his heart filled with bitterness and grievances. He reached out and touched Tian Man's hair, forcing a smile and saying, "It's alright. Carrying a few loads of water is a good way to practice my arm strength."

Tian Man looked up with her small face and said, "Senior sister, I'll help you choose."

Tang Shijiu smiled and said, "Okay!"

The more you try not to see someone, the more likely you are to see them. In the distance, Gu Yan, dressed in a snow-white gown, flitted through the mountains like an elf, while Xu Ziqing, in a blue cloth robe, stood out even more. The two walked hand in hand, like a perfect couple. When Gu Yan saw Tang Shijiu, she paused for a moment, then called out in a clear voice, "Senior Sister."

Xu Ziqing also lowered her voice and mumbled, "Senior Sister."

Tang Shijiu looked at Gu Yan, who was dressed in white, and realized that she had fallen and was now covered in mud.

Gu Yan was like an innocent little white rabbit, while Tang Shijiu was like a slippery mud monkey.

Tang Shijiu suppressed his anger: "Junior brother, I heard you were injured? Is your ear still there?"

Xu Ziqing was a little embarrassed, her face turning red, while Gu Yan said sweetly, "Senior sister has been wronged. I will go and report to Master now. Please don't blame us, senior sister. We are sorry."

Her innocent eyes glistened with tears. Tang Shijiu asked herself if she had bullied her, so why did she seem to be full of grievances?

Tian Man slipped over to Gu Yan's side, looked up and said, "Sister Yan smells so good." He reached out to hug her leg, but Gu Yan dodged lightly, and Tian Man missed, only managing to grab the hem of her skirt. Gu Yan, however, seemed to trip over something, and swayed softly, landing right in Xu Ziqing's arms: "Junior Brother Tian is so naughty."

Xu Ziqing frowned, about to shout, but seeing Shijiu's eyebrows twitch, he swallowed his words and helped Gu Yan up, saying, "Junior Sister Yan, let's go."

Tian Man said with a smile, "Senior Sister, look at Senior Sister Gu's skirt."

Tang Shijiu turned around and couldn't help but laugh out loud—two black marks were clearly visible on the back of her snow-white dress, left by Tian Man's little muddy paws.

However, her joy didn't last long. When she finished carrying a hundred loads of water and dragged her weary body back to the mountain villa, she was stunned. Everyone there was a cheerful atmosphere, and Gu Yan and Xu Ziqing were beaming with happiness.

Gu Yan pushed through the crowd and walked up to Tang Shijiu—she had changed into a new outfit, still as white as snow.

"Senior sister, Master has approved our marriage. Next month, Senior Brother Ziqing and I will be getting married. I know you treat Ziqing the best, so I came to tell you. Senior sister, are you happy?"

Her smile was harmless, innocent, reasonable, and radiant.

Her fellow students surrounded her, laughing happily.

Xu Ziqing also said, "Senior sister, I'm getting married. Please give me your blessing."

Tang Shijiu's mouth was full of bitterness, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back from falling.

At this point, wouldn't it be more appropriate to offer blessings?

Looking at Xu Ziqing's expectant face, Gu Yan's innocent face, and everyone's smiling faces, Tang Shijiu also smiled and said a sentence.

"I'm not offering my blessings, I'm not happy!"

Eight words, spoken with resounding force. The fall shattered Gu Yan's smile, filled Xu Ziqing with embarrassment, and silenced the surroundings. Tang Shijiu tossed her hair, splashing mud all over Gu Yan, and swaggered away, wanting to escape everyone's gaze before her tears fell.

Chapter Two: The Bet

Tang Shijiu wiped her face, straightened her clothes, and even applied some rouge. She wanted to appear indifferent and disappoint the fellow disciples watching the spectacle outside.

Xie Dongsheng sat in the hall early, waiting for the nineteenth.

Tang Shijiu straightened her bright red skirt, the crimson fabric making her face appear even more delicate. Xie Dongsheng cleared his throat: "Shijiu, you're seventeen this year. Your martial arts are among the best in Xiaoyao Mountain. I estimate that even if you go down the mountain, you won't suffer any losses..."

Tang Shijiu, eyes downcast and seemingly lost in thought, blurted out, "Master, are you afraid I'll get in the way of your junior brothers and sisters?"

Xie Dongsheng blushed. He couldn't deny that calling Nineteen down the mountain at this time did have that implication. But it wasn't just for Xu Ziqing and Gu Yan. He treated Nineteen like his own daughter and naturally didn't want her to be saddened by seeing the two of them being intimate every day.

Tang Shijiu smoothed the stray hairs from her forehead and calmly said, "I won't cause any trouble. My junior brother's wedding is in three days. I'll leave after attending the ceremony." Her dark, bright eyes stared straight at Xie Dongsheng. "Master knows that Shijiu won't go back on her word."

Xie Dongsheng was comforted, but he didn't know whether this teaching method was good or bad. He could only say, "Our Xiaoyao Manor teaches its disciples not to do things that do not suit their hearts, which is to borrow the meaning of the carefree life of the True Man of Nanhua. Nineteen, do not take it to heart. In this life, cry when you want to cry, laugh when you want to laugh, do as you please, and do not be entangled by external things."

"As a teacher, I am straightforward and do not like my disciples to lie. However, if a disciple is naturally inclined to lie, it is also a sign of his honesty."

Laughter drifted from outside the door, mingled with Gu Yan's melodious singing, as sweet as a nightingale's song. Tang Shijiu turned her head, trying to discern the voices, but couldn't distinguish which one belonged to Xu Ziqing and which to someone else.

Seeing that she was distracted, Xie Dongsheng knew she wouldn't listen to much, so he didn't say anything more. He took out a sachet from his pocket and handed it to her: "This is something from when you were a baby. When you go down the mountain this time, you might as well use this to find your biological parents. The mantis theory is pure nonsense. This sachet is embroidered with the character 'Tang,' which is why I used it as your surname."

Nineteen took the sachet and saw that its embroidery was exceptionally exquisite. One side featured white-headed mandarin ducks, and the other side had a Tang character, with a line of small characters next to it.

"A single inch of longing brings a thousand threads of sorrow, yet there is nowhere in this world to find solace."

Tang Shijiu was somewhat shocked; she had never thought about her biological parents.

However, it still felt a little heartbreaking. Did this mean that she should go and find her father and mother and never come back?

A breeze swept through the hall, causing clothes to flutter and carrying ever-growing laughter into the room.

Tang Shijiu knelt down and said, "Master, this disciple will never cause trouble." She bit her red lips and said firmly, "This disciple doesn't want to cause trouble either."

A grand wedding was about to take place on Xiaoyao Mountain, and everyone was filled with joy. This was Xie Dongsheng's first wedding since he took on disciples, so it was naturally being celebrated with exceptional festivity. Bright red "囍" (double happiness) characters were plastered all over the mountain villa, and everyone was talking about how beautiful the bride was. However, nineteen years old became a taboo subject, and no one dared to mention it.

Nineteen tossed her glossy black braid, watching her junior brothers huddle together, whispering amongst themselves. Nineteen possessed considerable inner strength, and overheard them discussing what kind of wine to buy for the wedding banquet and how many jars. Everyone knew Tang Nineteen had a fondness for wine; purchasing food and wine for the manor was usually her job.

Wedding banquet...

Wedding banquets should serve Daughter's Red wine...

Before she could even utter a word, several of her junior brothers had already spotted her and bowed respectfully, saying, "Good morning, Senior Sister!"

Tang Shijiu smiled and said, "Want to go out and buy some wine? Leave it to me." As soon as she finished speaking, she realized something was wrong. The faces of her junior brothers turned red, and they pushed each other away. After a while, the leader finally smiled apologetically and said, "Such heavy work should be left to the junior brothers. Senior sister, practice your skills well, practice your skills well."