Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 16

Yan Xiaodao was born with a charming and delicate appearance, coupled with a smiling mouth with slightly upturned corners. Usually, she looked like a lazy kitten with her eyes half-closed. Even if she pinched or scolded you for no reason, or jumped around when she was angry, she was just a cat jumping around, not scary at all. But now, she looked like she had gotten really angry with someone.

Xiao Dao threw down his chopsticks. "I'm going out for a walk."

"Xiao Dao?" Xiao Yue was worried and wanted to come along, but Xiao Dao didn't stop her and went straight out the door.

Xue Beifan and Yu Lanzhi looked at each other, and after a long while, Yu Lanzhi asked uncertainly, "Did I say something wrong?"

Xue Beifan smiled lightly, "It's nothing, it has nothing to do with you."

After offering a few words of comfort to Yu Lanzhi, Xue Beifan left the courtyard. He paced back and forth a few steps before turning and heading towards Wang Bibo's study. Sure enough... he saw Xiaoyue standing at the courtyard gate, looking inside, seemingly hesitant.

Xue Beifan ran up to her, "Xiaoyue, what's wrong?"

Xiaoyue said with some worry, "Xiaodao told me to wait here while she goes to fight Wang Bibo. If she can't win, she'll ask me for help."

Xue Beifan was both amused and exasperated; this girl had indeed set her sights on Wang Bibo.

Xiaoyue was puzzled. "What's wrong with Xiaodao? Yesterday she was praising Wang Bibo for not eating lard, why is she suddenly so angry?"

"Well, this..." Xue Beifan scratched his cheek. "Xiaoyue, you go back to the courtyard. I'll guard this place and make sure Xiaodao doesn't get hurt."

Xiaoyue frowned slightly and glanced at Xue Beifan with some distrust. "No way, I'll listen to Xiaodao."

Xue Beifan opened his mouth, then smiled, "Do you want to go and eavesdrop?"

Xiaoyue hesitated for a moment, "Xiaodao told me to wait here."

"Sigh, you don't have to listen to everything she says." With that, he gently tugged at her. The two of them climbed onto the wall together, and saw that the study door, which had been closed, was suddenly kicked open with a "bang" by Xiao Dao.

Inside the house, Wang Bibo was handling the accounts when Xiao Dao was startled. He was the owner of Bibo Manor, the most powerful person there; who would dare kick down his door? He looked up and saw Xiao Dao, then froze, "Xiao Dao?"

Xiao Dao stepped across the threshold and looked at Wang Bibo.

Wang Bibo put down what she was holding and walked over. "So you're really interested in coming to see me?"

Xiao Dao reached out and poked Wang Bibo's nose, "You're so shameless!"

Wang Bibo looked at the fingertip on her nose and chuckled, "What's wrong with me?"

"You framed my master and made you pay compensation, forged a contract to force me into marriage, and that's bad enough. In the end, you just wanted me to risk my life to help you open the mechanism in the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool, didn't you?!" Xiao Dao raised his eyebrows. "I brought Xue Beifan with me. You saw that forcing marriage didn't work, so you tried a second trick, deceiving Yu Lanzhi and making her beg me, right?!"

Wang Bibo was slightly taken aback, and the smile on her face faded a little. She said calmly, "That's not true."

"No?!" Xiao Dao sneered. "First, you used a self-inflicted injury to make Yu Lanzhi devoted to you. Then you explained to her why you forced me to marry you, because I could break the Nine-Bead Dragon Pool's mechanism. She would definitely come begging to me for your sake. If I agreed, I would fall into your trap. If I didn't agree, it would seem like I was shamelessly trying to marry you. Yu Lanzhi would definitely hate me to death, wouldn't she?"

Wang Bibo opened her mouth, and after a long while, she said, "You..."

"How would I know?" Xiao Dao glared at him. "Yu Lanzhi is a silly girl with no brains. Today, she just happened to bring up the mechanism of the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool. I knew it! There's no such thing as a free lunch. Fine, I'll go and expose her right now, so you'll lose both your wife and your money."

"Hey, wait!" Wang Bibo quickly stopped Xiaodao, looking quite helpless. "That's right, I do want you to help me open the mechanism of the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool... In fact, ninety percent of Bibo Manor's wealth is locked in the attic. Now that the family business is so big, it's gradually becoming unprofitable. I have no choice but to find a way to open the mechanism. But as you know, this approach is fraught with danger. I'm just afraid that you won't be willing to help me take this desperate measure."

Xiaoyue, watching from the wall outside the study, heard everything clearly and was secretly alarmed. She hadn't expected Wang Bibo, with all her scheming, to have such a plot. Xiaodao had also said last night that he suspected Wang Bibo wanted to use her; now that it was out in the open, her anger stemmed from Wang Bibo's exploitation of Yu Lanzhi's sincerity, didn't it?

Xiaoyue shook her head. Human hearts are unpredictable. Wang Bibo is such a heartless person!

Xue Beifan shook his head, resting his chin on his hand. "Wang Bibo has finally met her match."

Xiaoyue asked curiously, "Is it dangerous to unlock the mechanisms of the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool?"

"It was alright before, but it's different now." Xue Beifan shook his head. "After the fire, the mechanisms around the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool were damaged, which means that some of them may have gone out of control. It's impossible to guard against them!"

Xiaoyue felt uneasy—it seemed that Xue Beifan's search for the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams and his approach to Xiaodao was solely to use her to break the mechanisms; no wonder Xiaodao always said she was being extorted. And this Wang Bibo, while perhaps not looking for the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams, also needed Xiaodao to break the mechanisms.

In the end, the broken mechanism itself is nothing special. These people are trying to take advantage of people by deceiving and cheating, and they don't tell the truth at all. They are really despicable!

Thinking of this, Xiaoyue turned around and glanced at Xue Beifan.

Xue Beifan was startled when their eyes met, and quickly waved his hand, "I'm fundamentally different from Wang Bibo. I won't let Xiaodao take any risks. It's just asking her for help. I'll take the risks myself!"

Xiaoyue narrowed her eyes slightly, "Xue Beifan, remember these words: if anything happens to Xiaodao, you will pay with your life!"

After saying that, she jumped off the roof and went to wait at the gate of the courtyard, just as Xiao Dao had told her. Once the two sides started fighting, she would throw a knife and take care of Wang Bibo!

Xue Beifan touched his neck. Lou Xiaoyue and Yan Xiaodao were two completely different types. When Yan Xiaodao got angry, it was mostly just playful scolding; to put it bluntly, it was just a bit of coquettishness, which could even be seen as somewhat cute. But Lou Xiaoyue was different; her glare was truly deadly.

Xue Beifan shook his head inwardly; only Chonghua could endure it.

Wang Bibo, having been exposed by Yan Xiaodao's words, simply shrugged and said, "Since we've come to this, let's not beat around the bush... How about I void your marriage certificate and your debt this time, and you help me out?"

Xiao Dao stared at him for a long time, then gave a cold laugh, "You wish."

Wang Bibo frowned. "You won't agree?"

Xiao Dao chuckled and countered, "Do you think I'd agree or not?"

Wang Bibo had no choice but to back down, "Then what do you want? We can discuss it."

"If you want me, Yan Xiaodao, to do something, why bother with all these tricks? Just pay me and it'll be done!" Xiaodao stretched out his hand. "Give me the marriage certificate and the IOU, void the bet, and give me ten thousand taels of silver for my work. After you open the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool, I can choose any treasure for each mechanism you break. After all the mechanisms are solved, you and Yu Lanzhi will marry, and you are never allowed to take a concubine for the rest of your life."

Wang Bibo's eyes widened in disbelief. "You...you're trying to extort money from me!"

Xiao Dao curled her lip and raised her voice, "Trying to fool me, Yan Xiao Dao, will come at a price!"

"I……"

"I don't have time to wait." Xiao Dao tossed his hand. "I'll count to three. If you're willing, great; if not, forget it! One, two!"

"Hey..." Wang Bibo stopped her, gritting his teeth, "Fine, I give up!"

With a "snap," Xiao Dao spread a piece of paper on the table. "This is written in black and white: if anyone goes back on their word, Bibo Manor will be divided in two, one half for me and the other half for Yu Lanzhi."

Wang Bibo froze on the spot, "Yan Xiaodao, you're too much..."

"Too ruthless, isn't it? Whose fault is it? Blame yourself!" Yan Xiaodao smiled, narrowing his eyes, and said, word by word, "My mother said, never offend a woman, you can't afford to!"

In short, Xue Beifan on the roof shrank back – this girl is too ruthless, the future looks bleak…

Sharp tongue

Yan Xiaodao turned the tables and took control of the situation. This time, it was Wang Bibo who asked her to activate the mechanism, rather than Xiaodao and the others trying to find the Dragon Bone Map.

After dealing with Wang Bibo, Xiao Dao returned to the courtyard, where Yu Lanzhi was still waiting, talking to Hao Jinfeng who had just returned from the yamen.

"Big brother!" Xiao Dao ran over.

Xue Beifan and Chonghua both knew that Xiaodao had recognized Hao Jinfeng as his elder brother, and they thought it was a good thing.

"Xiao Dao," Hao Jinfeng told Xiao Dao, "the coroner examined Cui'er's body, and guess what?"

What clues have you found?

“Cui’er had the poison powder from your plate on her hand. She must have been the one who poisoned you. The fatal wound was the knife to your neck. You died from excessive blood loss.”

"There was a lot of blood on the ground yesterday, right?" Xiao Dao suddenly asked Xue Beifan after hearing the cause of death.

"There are quite a lot," Xue Beifan nodded.

“But there’s none on the opposite wall or on the flowers and plants.” Xiao Dao frowned. “The blood flowed out and seeped into the ground.”

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Xiao Dao pretended to slit Xue Beifan's neck, startling him so much that he quickly covered his neck with his hand.

"Such a fatal stab wound, the murderer must have struck from behind. Blood must have spurted out from the front, it should have covered the entire wall! The wall looked clean yesterday," Xiao Dao muttered to himself.

Hao Jinfeng nodded, "Indeed, I think Cui'er might have been dumped, or that she was killed by more than one person. I'm about to go to the garden to take a look."

As they were talking, Wang Bibo came in from outside. He seemed quite embarrassed to see Xiao Dao again, and coughed, "I have a way to find the murderer."

Everyone was surprised.

"Cousin, do you know who the murderer is?" Yu Lanzhi ran to Wang Bibo's side, and even glanced at Xiaodao, still looking somewhat wary of him.

Wang Bibo beckoned to the crowd, indicating – Follow me.

Walking towards the courtyard, Yu Lanzhi approached Xiao Dao and asked, "What were you doing just now?"

Yan Xiaodao glanced at her, then reached into his pocket and took out a written document, handing it to her.

"What is it?" Yu Lanzhi didn't understand.

Xiao Dao reached out and gently patted her shoulder. "Keep it safe, and don't come looking for trouble with me again."

Yu Lanzhi opened it and saw that it was the agreement that Wang Bibo had just signed. After looking at it for a long time, she asked Xiaodao in surprise, "Cousin, you've agreed to marry me?"

Xiao Dao smiled at her, "Yes, congratulations~"

Yu Lanzhi put away the document and ran ahead happily.

Xiaoyue, who was watching from the side, asked Xiaodao with some confusion, "Would Yu Lanzhi still be willing to marry her cousin after all this?"

Xiao Dao smiled and said, "I couldn't be happier."

"Her cousin is using her, and he may not even truly love her... Is that meaningful?"

Instead of answering, Xiao Dao asked, "And what about you? If Shen Xinghai were willing to marry you, under the same circumstances, would you marry him?"

Xiaoyue thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook her head.

Xiao Dao laughed and reached out to link her arm with hers. "That's why I'm best friends with you, and I keep my distance from her."

Xiaoyue nodded, "Hmm... Although she's quite pitiful, and it's understandable that she chose this option, I don't like her."

"Well said!" Xiao Dao said cheerfully.

Behind him, Xue Beifan glanced at Chonghua and asked, "Do you think this girl is hiding her true abilities, or is she just stupid? Not only are the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool full of traps, but she also destroyed them all. Why does she seem so confident?"

Chonghua looked at the lively Xiaodao and the quiet and obedient Xiaoyue ahead and smiled. "Yan Ruyu stole from the Imperial Palace to the ancient tomb beyond the Great Wall. She always goes alone. When have you ever seen her fail? This person has an unknown background and is exceptionally talented. Yan Xiaodao grew up with her... There must be a reason why your older brother would target her for help and even bet everything on her."

Xue Beifan was very curious about when he could test her and see just how capable Yan Xiaodao really was.

When the group arrived in the garden, they saw a servant sweeping. Xiao Dao had never seen this person before; he looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, very thin.

"Wang Cheng." Wang Gui called out to the man who was concentrating on sweeping the floor, following beside Wang Bibo.

Wang Cheng turned back to look at everyone, bowed his head in greeting, and said nothing.

Xiao Dao was somewhat surprised. The servants at Bibo Manor were all so sweet-talking and enthusiastic. He hadn't realized there were people who were so hard to please.

“He’s mute,” Wang Gui answered, “but he’s good at gardening.”

"So, he planted all these flowers?" Xiao Dao immediately looked at Wang Cheng with new respect.

“It’s not just the flowers,” Yu Lanzhi chimed in. “The design of this courtyard, the arrangement of the rockery, every single blade of grass—Wang Cheng did it all, didn’t he?”