Neuf chansons

Chapitre 23

Li Xinyun stared intently at her, as if she would surely die if she didn't agree. Fine, fine, I'll agree for now. After tonight, I'll wait for Brother Xiao to find out the truth.

I don't know why, but she trusted Xiao Feng, whom she had just met, so much, just like Zhan Zhao and Xu Qingzhi. Are some people just born to inspire trust?

Was it the name Xiao Feng that made her trust him? I don't know.

She nodded to Li Xinyun: "I promise you."

Li Xinyun happily got out of bed, walked over to her, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek: "I knew you wouldn't abandon me."

Li Yuxuan pulled her hand and sat her down: "Tell us what happened to you last night."

Li Xinyun's face flushed again: "I still don't know who kidnapped me. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything. I just felt an icy chill and was left naked somewhere." She glanced at Xiao Feng and lowered her voice: "Then I fell asleep, and when I woke up again, I was back in bed. It was the same for both nights."

"Are you all alone?"

After a moment, Li Xinyun answered in a low voice, "No."

Li Yuxuan knew that such matters were not worth investigating further, especially since Xiao Feng was an outsider. Even if Li Xinyun was thick-skinned, she was still an unmarried young woman. Seeing that Xiao Feng wanted to ask more, she immediately asked from the side, "I wonder what method Brother Xiao will use tonight?"

Xiao Feng's goodwill towards Li Yuxuan had dropped from 100% upon their first meeting to 1% after Li Yuxuan mentioned he already had a wife and promised to marry Li Xinyun. However, he would still keep his promise. When Li Yuxuan asked, he replied indifferently, "I don't have any good ideas. I just need you to wear this girl's clothes, let her kidnap you, and then I'll secretly follow her to find out what's going on."

"Huh?" Li Yuxuan's mouth dropped open. "What if they find out I'm a counterfeit? Will I be in danger?"

Xiao Feng didn't look at her, sipping his tea: "Didn't you say this little girl saved your life? This is the time for you to repay her kindness."

Li Yuxuan chuckled dryly, "Yes, but—" But I'm a woman too. Looking at Li Xinyun's expectant gaze, she said, "Alright, I agree." Being captured was commonplace anyway, so adding a side dish wouldn't hurt. Just no meat, please.

“Then let’s do it this way,” Xiao Feng stood up. “You can change clothes with this girl this afternoon, and I’ll go and call a friend to come and help.”

"Thank you, Brother Xiao!" Li Yuxuan quickly clasped her hands in thanks. Although she could see the disdain in Xiao Feng's eyes, she was still grateful for his help. She knew it all stemmed from his earlier promise to her.

A man of his word, this man deserves her heartfelt admiration.

That morning, Li Xinyun was unusually silent, sitting alone at the table, lost in thought, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing, and she only ate a wrap for lunch.

Li Yuxuan hadn't slept for almost two nights. Remembering that he had an important mission that night, he went to sleep after Xiao Feng left and slept until he got up for lunch.

After lunch, the two of them changed clothes back to back across the kang (a heated brick bed). Fortunately, the winter clothes were quite large, and Li Yuxuan didn't find Li Xinyun's clothes too small; they fit him perfectly.

Li Xinyun put on Li Yuxuan's clothes and giggled to herself. Li Yuxuan, seeing women's clothing after so long, felt a mix of emotions and stood there motionless for a long time.

After waiting for a while without any movement from Li Yuxuan, Li Xinyun asked from the other end, "Are you dressed yet?"

"alright."

"All done?" Li Xinyun turned around and looked over. Upon seeing him, she immediately exclaimed, "You brat, are you a man or a woman? You look prettier than me in this outfit. I'm jealous."

Li Yuxuan gave a wry smile: "There's no need to be jealous. You'll find out whether I'm a man or a woman eventually."

As evening fell, Xiao Feng also came over to see Li Yuxuan dressed in women's clothing. He was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "The men of Jiangnan in the Central Plains are indeed handsome."

Half a day later, as if just remembering: "Today on the street, someone was looking for Li Yuxuan, probably looking for you guys."

"Looking for us?" Li Yuxuan exclaimed excitedly. "They've come looking for us? Do I have to disguise myself as a woman to lure them in? That's great! Who are they? Where are they? Did you tell them?"

Seeing her excessive agitation, Xiao Feng assumed she was afraid of death and said calmly, "I told him, he should be arriving right behind me."

Li Yuxuan ran towards the door, shouting, "Who is it? Prince Xin? Zhan Zhao? Brother Xu?" Completely forgetting that she was dressed as a woman, she left the courtyard and ran to the entrance of the inn.

In the lobby of the inn, the tall and elegant Xu Qingzhi, looking travel-worn, stood there frantically asking the waiter which room Li Yuxuan was staying in. Li Yuxuan, standing behind him, recognized him. He saw Li Yuxuan, dressed as a woman, run past him without even looking at her face, and followed the waiter's directions to her room.

Li Yuxuan felt a slight disappointment. It was a pity that Xu Qingzhi didn't know martial arts. Since he was here, did Prince Xin and the others also come?

She followed Xu Qing into the room, but someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind: "Excuse me—?"

She turned around irritably: "You asked the wrong person."

Looking back, who else could this smiling man be but Prince Xin?

No wonder the voice sounded so familiar and I could understand what it was saying.

Seeing the look of surprise on her face, Prince Xin stood frozen in disbelief: "You, you, you—"

"I, I, I, what? It was an accident, I'll tell you when we get back to my room." Embarrassing things happen every year, but today there seem to be more than usual. Didn't Prince Xin already guess she was a woman? And yet he still looks like he's seen a ghost. Boss, this is really hurting his pride.

She spread her hands: "It's just a matter of dressing up as a woman for the sake of saving lives. Don't get the wrong idea."

Prince Xin chuckled and put his arm around her shoulder: "Yes, you're my good brother—how could I possibly have such impure thoughts? Am I such a lowly person? Only someone with a guilty conscience would try to cover something up like this."

Li Yuxuan broke free from his clutches, and was genuinely happy to see him at this critical moment. He chuckled and asked, "Are you alone? Where's Brother Zhan?"

"Guard Zhan will arrive soon. I was worried about your safety, so I went ahead."

"Thank you!"

"What are you thanking me for? Brother Xu should be here by now, didn't you see him?"

So they didn't come together? What a coincidence, an unbelievable coincidence! Both of them chose this perfect moment to witness her magnificent true face.

She led Prince Xin into the room: "I have another surprise for you."

His true feelings are hard to discern

As she reached the door of the room, she hesitated to go in, wondering how Xu Qingzhi would react to her appearance. She suddenly felt guilty, realizing that she had been deceiving him for so long and was carrying a heavy psychological burden.

Seeing her hesitation, Prince Xin chuckled and asked, "Who's inside? Making you so uncomfortable?" Before he finished speaking, Li Xinyun rushed out of the room, shouting, "You brat, Brother Xu is here!"

Li Yuxuan caught Li Xinyun who rushed towards him and gave an awkward smile. Upon seeing Prince Xin, Li Xinyun immediately burst into laughter: "You're here too? That's great! That brat shouldn't be going on that adventure disguised as a woman."

Prince Xin also laughed heartily.

Familiar footsteps echoed in the room, and Li Yuxuan lowered her head. A gentle voice came from above her: "Where is Brother Li?"

Blood rushed to Li Yuxuan's head, instantly coursing through her entire body. It felt a bit like the guilt of a thief—no, more like being caught cheating. But no, at that moment, she just wished the ground would suddenly split open so she could crawl into it.

Li Xinyun held her left hand and shook it, laughing exaggeratedly with a beauty that could "make fish sink and geese fall from the sky": "This is it, you brat, you're a peerless beauty now."

Li Xinyun probably genuinely found Li Yuxuan dressed as a woman ridiculous, and used her hand to straighten her head: "Look, isn't she? Absolutely stunning, right? Wow, your face is so hot, and you're even shy?"

Li Yuxuan's lips twitched.

Prince Xin twitched the corner of his mouth.

Xu Qingzhi's eyebrows, eyes, and mouth twitched all at once.

Seeing their expressions, Li Xinyun laughed so hard she bent over: "You rascal, if you were really a woman, I'm afraid all the men in this room would fall head over heels for you and insist on marrying you. Then I'd have a good show to watch."

The three continued drawing.

Fortunately, one person was still normal. Xiao Feng also came out of the room: "Since Young Master Li has a friend here, I will take my leave."

A single sentence jolted the madman awake. Without a second thought, Li Yuxuan denied it: "Brother Xiao, don't leave yet. Let me introduce my two brothers." She deliberately emphasized the word "brothers."

Upon hearing Li Yuxuan's words, Prince Xin immediately went over, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Zhao Yun, greetings to Brother Xiao."

"Zhao Yun?" Xiao Feng looked at him in surprise: "Zhao Yun, the Prince of Xin of the Song Dynasty?"

“Exactly!” Prince Xin answered decisively, causing Li Yuxuan, who was standing to the side, to raise his eyebrows. Wasn’t he afraid of getting into trouble in this foreign land by being so flamboyant?

Xiao Feng, after undergoing cosmetic surgery, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I admire Prince Xin's frankness!"

Prince Xin chuckled: "Master Xiao is renowned throughout the land, and I, Zhao Yun, have long admired your name. It is my good fortune to meet you here today."

"Hahahaha..." Xiao Feng laughed loudly: "Your Highness, what are you saying? Your Highness has a very sharp eye. I admire you."

Xu Qingzhi finally finished drawing his cigarette, pulled his gaze away from Li Yuxuan, quickly put on a serious expression, and bowed to Xiao Feng: "Xu Qingzhi greets King Xiao."

Li Yuxuan stared at the three of them, speechless. They knew each other? Master Xiao? King Xiao? The name sounded familiar… but she'd never actually seen him before.

Whether out of mutual appreciation or shared similar tastes, the three men called themselves bosom friends, laughed heartily, and then went to the lobby of the inn to drink, leaving her, who had just been so glamorous, completely alone.

Li Xinyun had completely forgotten her morning's gloom, and now she clung to her side with a beaming smile, chattering incessantly. Judging by this, perhaps tonight's ordeal could be avoided?

She insisted on changing back into her clothes!

Li Xinyun refused no matter what, insisting on wearing it until tomorrow morning.

She watched helplessly as Li Xinyun tried to cheat. In terms of length, she was a bit longer than her, but in terms of strength and martial arts, she was no match for her. If Li Xinyun didn't obediently switch, she could only stand by and watch longingly.

Arriving in the martial world, I realized there were many big shots here. Strange, why does the name Xiao Feng sound so familiar? It's like a memory from a distant past life.

How strange, was there such a name as Xiao Feng in her past life? Five years have passed since she came here, and the memories of her past life have faded somewhat amidst the struggles and mundane realities of this life. The only thing she remembers is that unfaithful man from her past life, but now, even his image has vanished from her mind. She occasionally thinks of him, but can only recall his name; perhaps in another five years, she'll even forget his name.

Those people and events were now worlds apart from her, and she could never go back. Within a week of waking up in Li Youying's body, she had come to this realization. She thanked God for giving her a second life, allowing her to return to her past life, trying to console herself, "You could think of it that way, right?" This thought excited her for a while, making up for the disappointment of leaving her computer and television and ending up in a desolate and boring ancient world.

It was incredibly boring back then, but ever since she became the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination, life has been like a spinning top. You never know what might happen; once it's over, it's all over. Luckily, she has a strong presence.

Seeing her silence, Li Xinyun leaned closer and asked, "What's wrong? Are you really angry? I just think you look beautiful in my clothes!"

Sigh—, a bitter smile on his face: "I'm wondering why I'm here? Where is fate taking me?"

Huh? Li Xinyun's eyes widened.

Li Yuxuan gave her a very resentful look: "If you don't understand, don't talk. Go play somewhere else!"

Dinner was served in the room by Prince Xin. Prince Xin, Xu Qingzhi, Xiao Feng, and the others sat around a table laden with mutton, beef, and various other meats. All three were reeking of alcohol and began to address each other affectionately as brothers.

Li Yuxuan sat beside Prince Xin, and Li Xinyun sat beside Xiao Feng. Four candlesticks illuminated the room. Remembering that Xiao Feng had mentioned having another friend, Li Yuxuan asked, "Brother Xiao, didn't you say you had someone else? Why didn't you invite him along?"

"Hehe, my brother has been missing for quite some time now. Some people say they saw him here, so I've come here to find him."

"Did you find it?"

"No!"

The candlestick lamp seemed to flicker, and Li Yuxuan unconsciously shrank back. Prince Xin glanced at her with a smile, then grabbed her hand. It was embarrassing; her palms were sweaty, and she was so nervous she felt like she was having a heart attack. But on the surface, she still had to put on a smile, didn't she? This Master Xiao already disliked her a lot. If she pretended to be dead and angered him further, he would just throw his sleeves and leave her alone, and she would be the one who suffered.

Please, with so many people here tonight, so-and-so isn't coming, is they?

The candlestick lamp flickered again.

Everyone stopped talking.

Li Yuxuan felt a chill creep through his back to his very core. Turning to look at Li Xinyun, the young girl wore an expression that was hard to decipher—a mixture of confusion, shyness, fear, and anticipation.

She must have been so frightened that she couldn't possibly have any expectations. She wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter around herself and felt that Prince Xin's hand holding hers was also trembling.

Whatever you do, don't shake—

Before the prayers were finished, just like the previous two nights, a cold wind blew in silently from the open doorway, plunging the room into darkness in an instant, extinguishing all four candlesticks. Prince Xin pulled Li Yuxuan forcefully into his arms.

Li Yuxuan closed his eyes.

Leaning against his chest, she seemed less afraid...