Tang Xunzhen was actually quite curious about how Fu Jiuxin could be driven to such a state of disarray.
Dou Akou recounted in detail how Fu Jiuxin led her to chase after the mysterious person, only to discover that the mysterious person was actually Xu Liren.
Gu Huaibi exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "That mysterious assassin was actually sent by Xu Liren? After the incident escalated, you were led by Fu Jiuxin to chase after him. We thought that with Fu Jiuxin's martial arts skills, it wouldn't be a problem, so we searched the scene again and captured a man with a large knife slung across his back. When he wielded that knife, none of us could get close. In a moment of inattention, several of our disciples were injured by him. Judging from his technique and the wounds, he was indeed the one who killed three members of the Li family in the tunnel. But the man was unfamiliar and didn't seem to belong to any sect in the martial arts world. We were just about to investigate when you returned."
He breathed a sigh of relief: "There's no need to investigate now. If it's Xu Liren, then things make sense."
Tang Xunzhen glared at him: "Don't interrupt. Right now, it's Akou and Mr. that are having a fight. Who wants to listen to your analysis of all that stuff?"
Gu Huaibi immediately shut his mouth, gazing at Dou Akou with eager eyes. Dou Akou then began to describe the scene, mentioning that Fu Jiuxin's sword was just an inch in front of Xu Liren's nose, and that when she pretended to fall from the tree and "inadvertently" blocked Xu Liren's way, Tang Xunzhen sighed and looked at Dou Akou with an incurable gaze: "Inadvertently? Do you think the master is as easily fooled as little Gu Zi!"
Gu Huaibi protested: "What do you mean?"
Tang Xunzhen completely ignored him, looking at Dou Akou with exasperation: "Such a clumsy performance, how could you possibly pull it off? If I were Fu Jiuxin, I would have stabbed you and Xu Liren together and strung them into a candied hawthorn!"
Dou Akou was startled by Tang Xunzhen's ruthlessness, then saw her shrug and say, "Idiot, there's nothing I can do. It was your fault this time. You figure it out yourself."
As she was about to get up and go back to her room, Dou Akou called out pitifully from behind her, "Senior sister, I have nowhere to stay."
She had been so principled just now, even going downstairs, so Dou Akou was very unwilling to go back upstairs to beg Fu Jiuxin.
Tang Xunzhen paused, turned around impatiently, and yelled, "Aren't you coming over here?"
Tang Xunzhen and Gu Huaibi were not yet married. Even though people in the martial arts world were not bound by etiquette, they would not dare to go so far as to have unmarried men and women living together in the same room. Therefore, they had always lived in separate rooms. It would be convenient for Dou Akou to stay with Tang Xunzhen for one night.
Dou Akou had been well taken care of by Fu Jiuxin since childhood. She ate when she ate and went to bed when she went to bed, which fostered an unshakeable routine. Later, after she married Fu Jiuxin, even though he would torment her like a wolf after the lights were turned off, he would always finish before midnight. So, she chatted with Tang Xunzhen in her room for a while, touching her here and there. Coupled with her depressed mood, she soon said that she wanted to go to bed first.
Tang Xunzhen was engrossed in reading the storybooks he had found, then pointed to the bed and said, "Go ahead."
Dou Akou responded listlessly, finished washing up, and buried herself in bed. The bed was still a wooden plank bed, and Tang Xunzhen's bedding was even softer and thicker than hers, but for some reason, she just couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning.
She missed her husband. At this time of year, she would always hug him, press her face against his chest, and pester him to read her a few poems: "Leaning against the embroidered bed, she is charming and helpless, chewing on red velvet, laughing as she spits at her lover." Oh my, her husband's voice was so beautiful and gentle. When he read such beautiful verses, it was deep and slightly hoarse, rustling. She couldn't wait for him to finish reading a poem before she fell into a sweet sleep.
But tonight, the bed next to her was empty, and the blankets seemed cold. Dou Akou felt so frustrated that she wanted to cry. She rolled around in the blankets a few times, wrapping herself up like a silkworm, biting her lip and staring blankly at the ceiling.
Tang Xunzhen turned around and angrily said, "Dou Akou! You're sleeping like this, are you not letting me sleep?"
So Dou Akou could only lie down properly, feeling empty inside. She hated her husband for being so heartless, and then she hated herself for not being able to swallow her pride and take the initiative to make up. She tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.
Not long after she fell asleep, there was a soft knock on the door.
Tang Xunzhen sighed, put down the storybook in her hand. She had been waiting for half the night, and finally it had arrived.
Outside the door stood Fu Jiuxin, with his delicate features and unassuming demeanor. Perhaps to avoid any awkwardness, he had also brought Gu Huaibi along. Upon seeing Tang Xunzhen, his first words were, "Is Akou asleep?"
Tang Xunzhen glanced back into the room and said softly, "She tossed and turned for a while and just fell asleep." She thought for a moment and added, "It seems she even cried."
She clearly saw Fu Jiuxin's eyes narrow with pain, and she thought to herself, what is this all about? Such a trivial matter, yet these two are making such a fuss. One refuses to bow his head and admit his mistake, while the other is stubborn and unwilling to compromise. Who knows how long their stalemate will last?
"I'll go in and check on her," Fu Jiuxin said, his voice hoarse.
Tang Xunzhen wisely stepped aside and waited outside with Gu Huaibi.
After a while, Fu Jiuxin came out, still with that calm and composed demeanor, and said, "Miss Tang, thank you for taking care of Akou these past few nights."
Tang Xunzhen was struck dumb: "How many nights? Wasn't it just this one night? How many nights exactly?"
Fu Jiuxin said calmly, "Then it's up to Akou."
His meaning was clear: this time he wouldn't indulge Akou. He would wait until Akou understood the reasoning behind it, obediently admitted her mistake, obediently promised not to repeat it, and obediently stopped thinking about other men. Since he, Fu Jiuxin, loved her, he would completely possess all of her, not tolerating even a grain of sand.
After Fu Jiuxin left, Tang Xunzhen clicked his tongue at Gu Huaibi and said, "He's really something. I think Akou is definitely going to be in trouble this time."
Dou Akou was indeed defeated.
Because she hadn't slept well the night before, she was very listless when she woke up in the morning, with dark circles under her eyes. Tang Xunzhen urged her to wash up while she was still in a daze.
Today, they would continue yesterday's unfinished journey. Although Gu Huaibi had a better understanding of who the invaders were, he still didn't want to stop exploring the maze of Haohui City. Even if the one hindering them was the emperor of the Huang Dynasty, it was a long-standing rule that the imperial court didn't interfere in the affairs of the martial world, and the martial world didn't interfere in the affairs of the imperial court. He naturally assumed that even if you were the emperor, you couldn't control the affairs of the martial world.
So the group of thirteen people gathered in front of the tower again. Dou Akou hadn't seen Fu Jiuxin since she woke up, and she was very conflicted. One moment she was looking forward to seeing Fu Jiuxin, and the next she was thinking about what to say and do if she saw her teacher. After waiting in front of the tower for a while, she saw Fu Jiuxin and Gu Huaibi walk over together.
Fu Jiuxin was indeed outstanding, whether in appearance, figure, or temperament. As he walked in so calmly, the third young lady of the twelfth row had already started blushing and swooning: "Oh! Brother Fu is so handsome!"
Upon hearing this, Dou Akou felt a pang of jealousy, as if someone had twisted her heart. She stared at Fu Jiuxin expectantly, waiting for him to say something so she could immediately slide down the steps and the two could continue their blissful relationship. However, Fu Jiuxin acted as if she didn't exist, not even glancing at her.
She was stunned for a moment, then heard Gu Huaibi announce that they were going into the tower. Without giving her any further thought, the group went inside.
Normally, Fu Jiuxin would always accompany Dou Akou when entering the tower. At the slightest disturbance, he would nervously protect her in his arms, not allowing her to suffer any mishap. But this time, he deliberately kept his distance from her, with several people between them. Ironically, the Third Miss was closest to him.
Although Dou Akou was still upset, there were so many people around, and it wasn't a good place or time to talk, so she had no choice but to give up and walked all the way to the mechanism that had been opened yesterday, still feeling sullen.
The strange smell they had noticed yesterday was still emanating from that cave. The further they went in, the stronger the smell became, and everyone stopped in their tracks. Fu Jiuxin sniffed and said, "I think this smell is probably from petroleum jelly."
Besides gold, silver, and the Chu Shi Sword, the greater treasure beneath Hao Hui City is actually a deposit of petrolatum. This fact is known only to the young master Fu Jiuxin, Dou Akou, Uncle Chen, Su Luoyang, and Xu Liren. Everyone else is completely unaware of it. Upon hearing this, they were all taken aback: "Petrolatum?"
Fu Jiuxin had thought about it carefully after returning home yesterday, and after consulting some ancient books and combining them with some of the things Chen Bo had said before, he came to this conclusion. He hesitated for a moment and said, "It's just an estimate. We'll know once we go in and investigate."
Everyone was about to leave when he heard this, but he stopped them again: "Wait a minute. Put out the candles."
Although he was just a disciple of Qingyong City, his demeanor was so convincing that everyone extinguished their candles and cautiously made their way inside.
The cave was very deep and dark. Although the smell was stronger than outside, it was still not strong enough to make someone faint. Fu Jiuxin took a few steps, then turned back and instructed, "You can light the candles now. This level of concentration is fine."
After he finished speaking, he lit a flint, and then one by one, the candles were lit. When the entire empty cave was illuminated by the candlelight, everyone was so stunned that they couldn't utter a word.
From the bottom of the cave, small streams of thick, black, oily viscous liquid gushed out intermittently. Although the flow was not large, it gathered on the ground to form small, winding rivers that shimmered under the candlelight.
This is petroleum jelly, used to make medicine, ink, and even weapons. Although the Huang Dynasty had precedents for mining and utilizing petroleum jelly, only two or three deposits were discovered in various places, and the reserves were extremely small. It can be said that they were depleted in a short time. The Huang Dynasty's technology for utilizing petroleum jelly was also underdeveloped. Of the small amount of petroleum jelly mined, only a small portion was successfully made into various products; the rest was wasted.
So it's no wonder that Xu Liren couldn't resist taking possession of such a vast and rich mineral deposit.
Everyone stood there stunned for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.
Fu Jiuxin pondered Xu Liren's purpose in wanting the petrolatum. He pursed his lips and quickly understood. Although the Huang Dynasty was peaceful and prosperous, it was still surrounded by powerful enemies. Several nomadic tribes to the west and north were stirring up trouble, harassing the Huang Dynasty's borders every winter. Xu Liren was ambitious and must want to use the petrolatum to make flint and explosives to equip the Huang Dynasty's army, ideally eliminating those major threats on the border in one fell swoop.
Ding Zisu was wondering whether she should send this message to Xu Liren as soon as possible; the others were pondering how to divide the mine; Dou Akou was looking at Fu Jiuxin.
Everyone was deep in thought, but the third young lady walked around excitedly, squatting down to examine the plaster, smelling it, and even dipping her finger in it to look at it closely. She walked briskly, and accidentally stepped on the plaster. The plaster was slippery, and she was hopping around unsteadily, so she swayed and was about to slip and fall.
Fu Jiuxin was closest to her and was trying to figure out Xu Liren's thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone about to fall and instinctively reached out to help. He didn't even see who had fallen before his hand moved. If he had seen that it was the Third Miss, he wouldn't have helped her.
A sudden exclamation from the Third Miss broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention to her. What they saw astonished them. The Third Miss gazed tenderly at Fu Jiuxin, who had his arm around her waist. If the dark cave backdrop behind them had been replaced with a peach blossom grove, it would have been a picture of a perfect match, a match made in heaven.
Fu Jiuxin snapped back to reality the moment he touched the Third Miss. He quickly withdrew his hand, leaving the Third Miss to lose her support and fall solidly to the ground with a "thud." But it was too late; Dou Akou had already gone to check on her.
If Dou Akou had felt any guilt before, Fu Jiuxin's help instantly dispelled that feeling, replaced by a raging fire of anger. She glared fiercely at Fu Jiuxin, grinding her teeth, and after a few moments of gritting, she tossed her head and left the cave first.
"Hey—" Tang Xunzhen looked at Fu Jiuxin, who was dumbfounded. It was the first time she had ever seen such a wonderful expression on Fu Jiuxin's usually indifferent face. Then she looked at Dou Akou's back as she stormed off, chuckled, and went after Dou Akou.
She chased after Dou Akou all the way to the house where they lived.
Dou Akou sat down on the chair with an air of authority, drank a few mouthfuls of tea from a large bowl, and had the demeanor of a tigress.
Tang Xunzhen sauntered in, glanced at her, and said, "Oh, are you angry?"
Dou Akou ignored her.
Tang Xunzhen deliberately sighed: "Sir, you only helped her up. There's nothing wrong with that, but you're so jealous. Why don't you think about what he would think if you helped another man take a sword for him?"
Dou Akou trembled all over and was unable to speak.
"Now you know!" Tang Xunzhen wouldn't let her off the hook, and continued, "So the master was alright. If it were me, I would definitely divorce you. Besides, didn't you see? The master only touched the third young lady once, and then immediately withdrew his hand. Her little hoof landed on the ground with a thud, right on the plaster, splattering black stuff all over her head and face. I heard that stuff is really hard to wash off."
Dou Akou thought about the scene and found it somewhat amusing. Then, reflecting on Tang Xunzhen's words, she suddenly understood her master's feelings.
Humans have to be so self-destructive. No matter how much others tell you that a pear is sour and inedible, it's no match for you picking it up and taking a bite yourself. Just one bite, and you'll understand everything without needing anyone else to teach you.
That's how Dou Akou is. No matter how confused she was about where she went wrong before, when things happened to her this time, she suddenly had an epiphany.
Yes, it's only natural for a gentleman to help someone who's about to fall, yet she was so angry she wanted to castrate his cat ears; she did something so outrageous, no wonder her husband was angry.
Dou Akou was an honest child. After realizing her mistake, she immediately and humbly asked Tang Xunzhen for advice: "Then... what should I do? How can I make Mr. Tang not angry?"
Tang Xunzhen glanced at her and pondered seriously: "If I anger Gu Huaibi and he puts on a cold and indifferent face, I usually whip him a few times until he screams, and then everything will be fine in the end."
Dou Akou shuddered and looked at her in horror.
Tang Xunzhen changed the subject, saying, "But obviously this trick won't work on you, sir, and you can't beat him either. As for you, sir..." She suddenly smiled mysteriously, "I think it should be like this."
She leaned close to Dou Akou's ear and whispered a bunch of things, leaving Dou Akou stumped: "I...I don't know how."
Tang Xunzhen laughed with an imposing air: "I remember, you seem to have a royal blue bellyband?"
shameless
Dou Akou rummaged through the trunk she had brought from Longfeng Town to Haohui City and found the royal blue undergarment.
This was originally a gift from her third aunt before her wedding. She was too embarrassed to wear this powerful weapon to seduce Fu Jiuxin on her wedding night. Later, when she was packing her luggage, somehow, it ended up being wrapped in a bundle and brought to Haohui City.
The royal blue satin felt soft and smooth to the touch, initially a little cool, but warmed by body heat, it felt even more like a young girl's smooth skin. Dou Akou blushed as she unwrapped the bodice, closed her eyes, and quickly slipped it on. After putting it on, she stood there, too afraid to move, until she shivered in the slightly cool air before shuffling over to the mirror.
When she opened her eyes, she was so embarrassed that she quickly closed them again. But the image that remained in her mind was still firmly etched in her heart. She immediately started to take off her clothes, but then she hesitated for a moment because she remembered what Tang Xunzhen had said. In the end, she left her undergarment on and put on an outer garment over it.
Just after finishing all that, Fu Jiuxin returned. Dou Akou had returned early because she was angry, while Fu Jiuxin had obviously gone through the mine again before calmly making his way back.
He pushed open the door and was momentarily stunned when he saw Dou Akou. Then, as if he hadn't seen her, he went to rummage through his clean clothes, preparing to wash away the dust.
Dou Akou was initially worried that Fu Jiuxin would turn his back on her and kick her out, but now that she saw that Fu Jiuxin didn't seem to care about her, she felt relieved on one hand, but also a little disappointed on the other.
From behind the screen came the rustling sound of clothes being taken off. It was a summer evening, the sky was about to darken, and the afterglow of the sun shone through the window paper, casting a dim yellow light on the screen. The black silhouette behind the screen was standing up and splashing water on itself.
Dou Akou stared blankly at Fu Jiuxin's shadow. Beneath that handsome profile was a beautifully curved neck, and this graceful curve went down his chest to his firm abdomen, and then... was covered by the bathtub.
Dou Akou mumbled a disappointed sound in her throat and took a few steps forward as if possessed, intending to peek at the erotic scene inside. She had only taken a few steps when a garment suddenly flew out from behind the screen and landed squarely on Dou Akou's head. Then Fu Jiuxin's icy voice said, "Turn around. Don't look."
Dou Akou pulled Fu Jiuxin's inner garment down from her head, and blushed again when she smelled his scent on the clothes.
She sat there blankly, waiting for Fu Jiuxin to finish his bath. After the sound of water, there was another rustling sound, and then a figure emerged from behind the screen. Dou Akou's eyes widened.
Fu Jiuxin was loosely draped in a white undergarment, her whole body damp and shrouded in moisture, making her look like a beautiful woman shrouded in mist.
Dou Akou felt a burning sensation in her nose, turned her head to cover the nosebleed that was about to burst forth, and when she looked back, she saw that the incomparably handsome man had a dignified, holy and inviolable look on his face. He didn't even look at her, but sat down at the table and picked up a book to read.
Dou Akou waited for him for a long time, realizing that Fu Jiuxin would not take the initiative to talk to her. Remembering Tang Xunzhen's words, a blush crossed her face. Finally, she gritted her teeth and decided to go for it!
She quietly moved behind Fu Jiuxin and first looked at the book Fu Jiuxin was reading. Originally, she wanted to use this book as an excuse to talk about her opinion on it, and then have everyone chat about it enthusiastically... But there were four words on the cover of the book: Fayan Yishu (法言义疏) - which she didn't understand at all.
Dou Akou choked for a moment, abandoned such a foolish idea of striking up a conversation, and put it into action.
She reached out from behind and wrapped her arms around Fu Jiuxin's neck, then leaned down and whispered softly in his ear, "Sir..."
Fu Jiuxin froze, but thankfully he didn't push her away.