Cueillir des fleurs et sourire

Chapitre 3

"If you promise me a few things, I promise I won't tell you." Shengxiang continued to tilt her head and look at him with a grin.

After a moment's hesitation, Bi Qiuhan felt somewhat embarrassed. He had been careless and had been forced into this situation by this playboy. "What is it?"

“I’ll only talk if you agree first.” Sheng Xiang smiled, biting his lip, clearly it wasn’t anything good. “If you don’t agree, I’ll start shouting first—Bi Qiuhan is from Bi…” He really did shout it out in a drawn-out voice.

Although it wasn't something shameful, firstly, he was bound by the sect rules, and secondly, he had important business to attend to on this trip; how could he invite more trouble? Bi Qiuhan interrupted him, "I agree."

Shengxiang stopped talking, smiling as he looked at him. With a "snap," he pulled a gold-rimmed folding fan from his sleeve, opened it, and fanned himself a few times. The way he looked at Bi Qiuhan was like a butcher looking at a pig on a chopping board. After a while, just as Bi Qiuhan was about to speak, unable to contain himself any longer, Shengxiang smiled and snapped the fan on his head. "First, let me teach you, no matter who you are in front of, whether they're mentally challenged or an idiot, a friend or a son, always remind yourself of things you can't say; second, you're not allowed to refer to yourself as 'Bi Mouren' in front of me; third, you're not allowed to put on airs like a chivalrous knight in front of me; fourth, what are you doing in the capital? Can you tell me?" He spoke quickly, snapping the fan shut as soon as it was closed, and by the time the fan was back, he had finished speaking.

Before this, if you told Bi Qiuhan that anyone could hit him on the head with a fan, he would absolutely not believe it. Sheng Xiang's blow wasn't a display of pure skill, but rather a result of his incredible speed; Bi Qiuhan hadn't considered that Sheng Xiang knew martial arts. He was waiting for Bi Qiuhan to start a challenge, never expecting that Sheng Xiang would suddenly strike him on the head with a fan. With several "unexpected" moments combined, Sheng Xiang easily succeeded.

But Bi Qiuhan knew very well that in the martial world, if you "didn't expect" something, you would die. If Shengxiang's fan had been imbued with true power, regardless of Shengxiang's skill level, Bi Qiuhan could have easily splattered his brains if he wanted to. The fact that he didn't was an act of mercy.

His face had turned deathly pale by the time Shengxiang retracted his fan. His deep eyes looked at the young master who was fanning himself nonchalantly, and he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Young Master Shengxiang, you did a good job of teasing me!"

Shengxiang took his words as a compliment and nodded with a smile, "Of course I'm good. I'm an unparalleled, wise, powerful, beautiful, intelligent, handsome, and universally loved great person."

Bi Qiuhan hesitated. He was a man of great pride, and having been so thoroughly fooled by Sheng Xiang, it would be a lie to say he didn't feel extreme hatred and disgust towards him. However, he was a man of his word, and he would never go back on his promises. Although his anger was surging, he still managed to keep a stern face. "I came to the capital to find a woman who disappeared more than thirty years ago." After saying that, he turned and left. He was afraid that if he looked at Sheng Xiang again, he would lose control of his anger and kill this young master on the spot.

"Wait a moment," Shengxiang called out.

Bi Qiuhan took a deep breath and turned around. "Is there anything else?"

“Actually, when you let it slip earlier, you could have done this,” Shengxiang said, making a face, “and then said ‘I was lying to you,’ which would have covered it up, right?” He grinned at Bi Qiuhan, whose face had turned extremely ugly. “Also, why did you go into such detail, saying ‘I came to the capital to find a woman who disappeared more than thirty years ago’? You could have said ‘I came to the capital to find someone’ or ‘I came to the capital on business,’ wouldn’t that have been enough? You need to be a little creative. If you’re always so stubborn, you’ll easily make a fool of yourself and die without even knowing why…”

"Young Master, Master Hu... Master Hu..." From afar, Xiao Yun screamed as she ran towards them, "Master Hu has collapsed in the room..."

Saint Incense immediately shut up.

Bi Qiuhan was on the verge of exploding with anger when it was suddenly as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. Something had happened? "Where is Master Hu?" he asked urgently.

"His room is behind the kitchen," Xiaoyun pointed to the southeast corner. "What should we do? Young Master, is Young Master Qiyang here? Can we ask him to come and rescue him?"

"Qiyang?" Shengxiang sighed and muttered to herself as she watched Bi Qiuhan disappear in a flash. "Qiyang isn't here. He has exams coming up." She then dusted herself off. "Go to the pharmacy and get some danshen and borneol or something. Boil a bowl of water and take it to Old Hu's room."

When Bi Qiuhan arrived at Master Hu's room, Taibo was taking the pulse of an elderly man who looked to be about sixty years old.

"how?"

Taibo shook his head. "As people get older, they're bound to have more health problems. I don't think it's anything serious."

“Taibo seems to be quite knowledgeable in medicine.” Bi Qiuhan smiled slightly. “In my opinion, he fainted because of his advanced age and poor heart and lung health.”

"Hehe, most of the servants in the manor know a little bit, but they're not experts." Taibo chuckled. "Young Master has a heart condition, so all the servants have learned a little, just in case." Shengxiang has a heart condition? That young master is so lively and playful, always keeping a low profile. He doesn't seem like a patient at all. Bi Qiuhan frowned. Has he been spoiled too much? Is he being pampered as if he's sick even though he's not?

The door creaked open, and before anyone could enter, a voice came in first: "Taibo, you're here, but what about the main gate? What if my father comes back? Are you going to let him stand outside and starve? I'll take care of things here, you go ahead."

Upon hearing Shengxiang's voice, Taibo smiled broadly, "Yes, my good young master." He then left with peace of mind.

Shengxiang came in, waved for Bi Qiuhan to move aside, and bent down to listen to Lao Hu's heart. "Xiao Bi, help me lift the bed a little higher on the side of Lao Hu's feet."

Human life is at stake, so Bi Qiuhan silently lifted Master Hu's bed three inches.

Shengxiang rubbed Master Hu's neck a few times with her fingers. After a while, Master Hu let out a long breath and said, "My good young master, you've worked hard again."

When Shengxiang saw that he was awake, she stopped what she was doing, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at him with a smile, "Are you feeling any better?"

Master Hu laughed, "Young Master personally saved my old life. If it weren't good, wouldn't I be letting Young Master down? Haha."

He tried to sit up, but Shengxiang pressed him down. "Lie down for a while, wait until more blood flows back to your heart before you get up. Otherwise, if you faint again, I won't take care of your good young master."

"Yes." Master Hu smiled and lay back down. "But if Old Hu keeps lying down, what will we do for dinner tonight?"

Shengxiang blinked. "Well—we'll talk about it when I'm hungry."

"Young Master," Xiao Yun said as she entered carrying the medicinal soup, "Here's the medicinal soup you requested."

Shengxiang brought the bed over with his left hand and pressed it down with his right. Bi Qiuhan unconsciously followed his gesture and lowered the bed. Only after lowering it did he feel a slight pang of regret. Why had he been so obedient? But then he heard Shengxiang laughing and saying, "Old Hu, if you drink this, your good young master will perform a magic trick and conjure up the entire mansion's dinner."

Old Hu took the medicine soup and said with a smile, "I don't believe it. Young Master, you can't order Yu Xian Lou to deliver food again. Last time you did, the Master scolded you. If you order it again this time, the Master will beat you."

Shengxiang looked at him with a smile, "My old Hu, that was when I was eight years old, how come you still remember?" He rested his chin on his hand and looked at Master Hu, "Don't worry, I can conjure up dinner without leaving the house."

"I've drunk it. Young master, where's your dinner?" Old Hu finished his medicine soup, and the bottom of the bowl gleamed.

With a "snap," Shengxiang, holding a folding fan, pointed to the area under Lao Hu's bed, in the cabinet, and on the floor. "Lychee sago cakes, tomato-stuffed ham, sweet and sour cabbage, and ten jars of Wuhua Dragon Snake Wine. Lao Hu, do you think that's enough for dinner in the mansion?" He looked at Lao Hu with a smile.

Old Hu's face immediately turned red. He sometimes liked to secretly drink a few cups of wine. He was also a good cook and had hidden a lot of snacks to go with the wine in his house. He had also privately brewed a few jars of good wine, but Sheng Xiang had actually found them. "Young master, couldn't you leave me some? You've taken all of Old Hu's meager savings."

“No.” Shengxiang replied seriously, “It’s my personal interest to plunder other people’s assets.”

Xiao Yun chuckled to herself, while Bi Qiuhan, who was initially furious, couldn't help but smile. This young master, though detestable, also had some endearing qualities. He let out a long breath; in his eleven years of wandering the martial world, this was the first time he'd encountered someone like this. Sheng Xiang… The longer he gazed at him, the more his childhood memories vaguely surfaced. Why did Sheng Xiang, in his memory, always have eyes like glass when he was young? Those eyes held neither tears nor laughter, a… very strange… very strange look.

Chapter Two: Xingyun Recognizes Qiongniang in a Dream

Several days later.

The bluestone road of Quyuan Street was bustling with people, all of whom were well-dressed and had money in their pockets. On the south side of this street was the Yuxian Zhengdian, with a building in front and a platform behind. The people of Bianjing called this shop "Tai Shang," the most luxurious place in the city, where wine in silver bottles cost seventy-two coins per jiao, which was not something ordinary people could afford.

"Shengxiang, where are you taking me?" Bi Qiuhan was being dragged along by Shengxiang, who said they were going to find "that woman who disappeared nearly thirty years ago," and ended up being dragged straight to this street. Shengxiang looked around the street, stopping to watch any interesting things that happened. Halfway down the street, he had already bought four bags of snacks—all of which were hanging in Bi Qiuhan's hands. He really didn't know if he would have to carry a huge sack back if he were to walk all the way to the end like this.

“I’ll help you find someone,” Shengxiang answered easily. “Didn’t you say that woman is very good at laughing? If you want to find a woman who can laugh, of course you have to come here… Look, here.” He pulled Bi Qiuhan to stand in front of a shop called “Bai Tao Tang” and pointed to the door with a smile.

Bi Qiuhan, dragged along by him, was dazzled by the sights. It felt like he was seeing the world for the first time since his debut, learning how the wealthy lived. Finally, Shengxiang stopped on his own. Looking inside, he saw several girls swaying back and forth. One of them met his gaze and smiled slightly. He inhaled the fragrance of the establishment and blurted out, "A brothel?"

Sheng Xiang tapped him on the head with his fan. "Smart." He wasn't actually taller than Bi Qiuhan, but for some reason he could tap him on the head with his fan. Then he grabbed Bi Qiuhan's hand. "Come on."

"Wait!" Bi Qiuhan said with a stern face, pulling Shengxiang back. "As the son of the Prime Minister, you should at least consider your father's reputation, not your own. How can you so easily step into such a place? Besides, according to our sect's rules, our disciples are absolutely forbidden from entering such places of debauchery."