"Miss, and you?"
"What... what happened to me?" I looked at Xiaowu with a question in my eyes.
"You'll get lost" hit the nail on the head, leaving me no room for maneuver.
I laughed it off and said, "What? How old am I? Oh, Xiaowu, stop nagging and take Jue to sleep." I pushed Xiaowu forward.
"But," she glanced at me worriedly, then looked at Jue. Seeing Jue nod, she said nothing more and led the way for Jue.
"Then I'm off, don't get lost," Jue said teasingly, pinching my cheek before following behind Xiao Wu.
"Hmph." What kind of person is this, bullying me along with Xiao Wu?
I accidentally overlooked Jie'er behind me, and only remembered her now that Jue has left.
Tilting her head to the side, with a sweet smile, she said, "Jie'er, it's been so long since we went for a walk together. Let's go for a walk!"
"Uh, um," Jie'er responded blankly.
"Let's go," he said, pulling Jie'er along as they explored the area under the sunshine.
————In the room of Yuyin Hall
"How is it?" A sharp, cold light shot towards Xuanwu.
"Miss has been poisoned," Xuanwu replied respectfully.
The person who asked "Who is it?" turned their back to Xuanwu, and the imposing dark aura made Xuanwu feel unsteady on her feet.
"I don't know yet, but Miss seems to know something," Xuanwu replied cautiously, suppressing her fear.
"Is there anyone suspicious?" came the voice, which had a ghostly, magnetic quality.
"Yes, Murong Jie, she is a suspect in the poisoning incident."
"En" said nothing, yet it filled Xuanwu with fear. It was precisely this unpredictable master that revealed his ruthlessness, because no one knew what he would do next.
With an unquestionable tone, the black hole's gaze fell upon Xuanwu.
"Yes, I'll take my leave." Xuanwu knelt down, bowed, and left through the door.
Once outside, Xuanwu realized how delightful the air outside was and how suffocating the air inside was. Her master had never revealed any emotion, except for the young lady.
With a forceful squeeze, the cup shattered in his hand. The sun shone brightly outside, but it brought no sunshine to his heart. In the blazing light, his expression was unseen.
—Walked to the side of an artificial hill
"Ah, please let me go!"
I vaguely heard someone shouting, and pulled Jie'er over the artificial hill.
I saw a palace maid being beaten by a group of other palace maids. It seems that group beatings are now common in the palace!
"Xiaoxue, please save her! She's so pitiful!"
Seeing Jie'er's worried gaze, I took a closer look at the palace maid.
It was her, the palace maid who led the way for me.
However, I didn't save her immediately; instead, I stood there and watched.
I found it strange. It seemed like the palace maids weren't hitting her very hard. It was as if they were afraid of something. Also, I hadn't heard any sounds from a moment ago until now, so why did they start making noise here? And the palace maid's expression was so strange, so strange that I couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Xiaoxue!" Jie'er snapped me out of my thoughts, looking at me anxiously. "Xiaoxue, quickly save her! She seems to be dying!"
"Ah, oh," I said softly as I walked up to the group of palace maids, "What are you doing?"
Upon seeing this, the group of palace maids hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "May Lady Jue be blessed with good fortune."
"What are you doing? Hitting someone? Teaching someone a lesson?" Without a harsh tone, he gently lifted a palace maid's chin with his little finger, his voice carrying an accusatory tone.
"This servant deserves to die!" The palace maid was so frightened by me that her face turned pale, and her slightly white lips trembled slightly.
Jie'er was helping the palace maid who had been beaten up.
"Go down," I said, releasing my hand from the maid's chin. I had no intention of disciplining them; I still had serious doubts about the maid who had been beaten.
The group of palace maids stumbled and retreated.
"Thank you for your help, Madam," the beaten palace maid said, shaking off Jie'er and running to kneel down in front of me.
"It's nothing. What's your name?" He looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Xiao Wan"
"Oh... Xiao Wan," he said meaningfully, uttering her name.
"This servant has no way to repay you, please, Madam, allow Xiao Wan to stay and serve you!" Seeing that I was about to leave, Xiao Wan quickly knelt down and walked to me.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Jie'er ran to my side, grabbed my hand and said, "Xiaoxue, let's keep her here, she's so pitiful."
She was serving me, and I was just wondering how to find out his background when she delivered herself to my door. I was just looking for a reason to take her in when Jie'er gave herself to me. Fine, I'd like to see what she's up to.
Let's go!
Chapter Forty-Five
"Yes," the palace maid said, pulling up her skirt to catch up with Jie'er and me, following closely behind.
Now here's the problem: I'm all high and mighty, exuding the aura of a master, but which way to go? Standing at the crossroads in a corner of the palace, I feel like cracking my skull and digging out my memories. I'm on the verge of tears! I can't ask Jie'er or that palace maid; that concerns my image! What to do? What to do? Maybe I should just order my soldiers around and go wherever they lead me.
I counted the soldiers in a direction that Jie'er and the palace maids behind me couldn't see. That's it, this is the one. Feeling relieved that a problem had been solved, I strode confidently toward the path that had been pointed out.
"Xiaoxue, where are you going?" Jie'er's gentle voice rang out, but it unexpectedly struck me like a thunderbolt.
"Um, I just thought, the weather's so nice, I might as well take a look around," I stammered out my awkward answer.
"But, the Jade Sound Palace isn't in that direction," Jie'er said, adding another weight to my shoulders. I was exhausted.
“Miss Jie, Madam probably wants to see the scenery over there. Let me lead the way!” Xiao Wan smoothly resolved my awkwardness and pointed us in the right direction.
I secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Oh my god, I almost messed up. How come I never realized I had a terrible sense of direction in modern times?
Thinking back to what Xiaowan said earlier, she's a smart girl who knows what she should and shouldn't do. But I just can't figure out why she's following me.
It's like one problem after another. I haven't even fully figured out the poisoning incident from a few days ago, and now Xiao Wan has come along. I really can't stand all this trouble!
As soon as they entered the Jade Sound Palace, they saw Xiao Wu looking around, while Xiao Qing leaned against the door, leisurely watching Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up when she saw me and Jie'er. She ran up to me and said, "Miss, you're finally back!"
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression.
"Who is she?" Xiao Wu saw Xiao Wan following behind and looked at her warily.
“Xiao Wan, I saw her being bullied on the road and saved her. She said she wanted to repay me, so I let her come to Yuyin Palace with me.” I pointed to Xiao Wan and explained the whole story to Xiao Wu in a few words.
Xiao Wu wanted to go up to Xiao Wan, but I stopped her and shook my head at her seriously.
Xiao Wan went to great lengths to get me to meet her, and I don't want to 'let her down' or waste her good intentions. Besides, it's safer to keep her by my side until I know her purpose. If she's in the shadows, I'm afraid I won't be able to defend myself properly.
Xiao Wu glanced at me, then pulled me into the room. I quickly turned to Jie'er and called out, "Jie'er, you go back first. I'll come find you when I have time. Xiao Wan, please take Jie'er with me."
Seeing Jie'er smile and nod as she left the Jade Sound Palace, Xiao Wan followed closely behind.
The door slammed shut by Xiaowu. I stared at her in surprise. I wanted to tell her that Xiaoqing was still outside, but then I saw Xiaoqing slip in through the window. I wanted to ask her even more, "Why didn't you come in through the door? Why did you have to climb through the window?"
Xue'er's voice is gentle, yet magnetic.
"Jue?" I turned my head and saw Jue's fair and clean face, with sharp and cold features; his dark and deep eyes were captivating; his thick eyebrows, high nose, and exquisitely shaped lips all exuded nobility and elegance. His dark red robe was floating in the air in a dreamlike way. My God, Jue is a natural clothes hanger. He looks good in anything.
"Xue'er, come here," Jue said, extending his hand seductively.
"Oh," I said sluggishly as I walked up to him.
When I came to my senses, I was already in his arms, with a purple jade pendant around my neck.
He picked up the jade pendant and examined it from all angles, but still couldn't figure out what it was. "Wow, what is this?"
"Love's Order" succinctly answered my question.
I knew Jue wouldn't explain; if he did, he wouldn't be Jue. So, I turned my gaze to Xiaowu and Xiaoqing. They both looked at Jue with surprise, as if he had done something he shouldn't have.
"The Token of Love is a symbol representing the mistress. Possessing this token grants the right to exercise the mistress's wealth. As the name suggests, possessing this jade token means possessing all of the mistress's property. Miss, this jade token is coveted in the martial arts world and in any country. You must be careful and make sure no one sees it."
"Ah!" I looked at Jue nervously. "Jue, can I please not want to?"
He looked at me with an air of authority, his eyes squinting lazily, and a wicked smile on his face.
Oh, how terrifying! How could they do this? How could they threaten me with this deadly jade pendant?!
“Miss, that’s a symbol of your status. The master is acknowledging your status as his wife.” Xiao Wu saw my two eyes, which were like black gems submerged in a pool of water, shining with a pitiful light.
"Madam? So I'm Jue's wife then?" My eyes blinked as I looked at Jue, and the upturned corners of my mouth betrayed my delighted mood.
"Don't want it?" He looked at my expression with a teasing gaze and reached out to remove the jade pendant from my hand.
"Ah, no, Jue, you can't take it back now that you've given it to me!" Startled, she jumped out of Jue's arms, clutching the jade pendant tightly to her chest with both hands, her body taut like a steel wire, leaving no room for negotiation.
Putting aside the fact that this could be a lot of money, the main point is that it symbolizes that I am Jue's wife, so consider it Jue's betrothal gift to me! (Author's note: A betrothal gift? That's too much! It's all the wealth in that world! Zi Xue: It's Jue's gift to me, what's it to you? Author: I wrote it as a gift from him to you. Zi Xue: That just shows how stupid you are.)
"Okay," he said with a smile in his eyes, reaching out to pull me into his tight embrace.
But I can't see Xiaotian and the others anywhere!
"Jue, where are Xiaotian and the others?"
"Task"
"Then you won't have anyone to protect you?" I asked worriedly, clutching his shirt, unaware of how intimate the position was.
"It's alright," Jue seemed to enjoy this concern, placing her hand on my waist.
To Xiao Wu and the others, it looked like I was half-lying in Jue's arms, my hand touching Jue's chest, and Jue's hand on my waist, a position that made people have all sorts of fantasies.
"Cough cough," Xiao Qing's coughing sound rang in my ears.
I looked at Xiaoqing with displeasure. "Xiaoqing, what's wrong with you? I've always told you to rest properly, but you always insist on being a thief. See? Now you've caught a cold!"
My words made Xiao Qing cough even more violently, thinking to herself, "Who am I doing this for?!" But when she saw the look in her master's eyes, she quickly shut up.
I tilted my head and looked at Xiaowu and Xiaoqing's awkward expressions. What's wrong with them?