Vallée Sauvage de Green Mountain (Transmigrée à la dynastie Song)

Chapitre 23

Little Green, I'm leaving this time, I'm really leaving!

Little Green guesses... Sister White will definitely miss Little Green! And Little Yunzi—she'll definitely scold Little Green! Because except for not painting his hat green, everything else has Little Green's marks... Hahaha, that'll definitely give Little Yunzi a headache! ..."

"Hahahaha—" I burst out laughing, and seeing Yun Yiyang's green face, I couldn't help but laugh again. That cute and cunning little green guy! Unfolding the letter, I continued reading—

"...Little Yunzi, you can relax now. You don't need to worry about me trying to harm you again, because I've been running away from home for many days. If I don't go home soon, my fate will be terrible... terrible! I have to sneak home right away -- but it's so much fun to be out and about! So much fun, I'm having fun all the way!"

Sister Bai, although you always have such a frosty look on your face, you're so good to Xiao Lü! If Xiao Lü were a man, he would definitely marry you! Also, remember to eat the candy I gave you on time. We'll have to meet again someday!

One last thing: Xiaoyunzi, did you rummage through my room? Are you having diarrhea lately? If so, please have some of Sister Bai's candy, just one piece will do; if Sister Bai won't give you any, you'll just have to swallow three qian of Coptis chinensis powder, the effect will be the same.

"Little Green"

At the end of the letter, a smiling girl's portrait was drawn; with just a few strokes, Xiao Lü's innocent and lively smile leaped off the page. I couldn't help but burst into laughter again, turning to Yun Yiyang and asking, "You really went through Xiao Lü's things... and now... oh, do you have the diarrhea Xiao Lü mentioned?"

Yun Yiyang's face flushed red and then darkened, and he stammered, "Because... because we didn't know her background, we were afraid she was a spy sent by our competitors, so of course we had to investigate... but this little girl is smarter than a monkey, she actually found out!"

I looked at him with a half-smile and asked, "Do you have diarrhea?"

Yun Yiyang said with a bitter face, "Of course there is! I don't know what she put in her things, I just touched it casually... I thought it was just an upset stomach from eating something these past few days!"

Looking at Yun Yiyang's face scrunched up in a grimace, I felt both annoyed and amused. I turned around and walked to the table, asking in surprise, "Huh? Where's my wooden box?"

"Ah! The stuff in that wooden box is the candy Xiao Lü gave you?!" Yun Yiyang suddenly shouted, almost jumping up! "But...but..."

I asked curiously, "But what is it?"

"But...but..." Yun Yiyang let out a painful groan and slowly squatted down. "But today I saw that thing on my sister's desk. She made me use it as bait to feed the carp in the lotus pond!"

I was shocked: "What! That's my medicine! You gave Yu a huge boost?" Looking at Yun Yiyang's pained expression, I thought for a moment and finally couldn't help but laugh. "This time it's simple. Three qian of Coptis chinensis powder is enough for you."

I leaned lazily against the bamboo chair, idly playing with a sharp little knife. I polished it so hard that it could reflect a person's image. If a blacksmith or a master knife wielder saw this knife, they would be extremely surprised!

Because this knife is made of stainless steel, it doesn't belong to this era.

This is also the only modern item I left behind after coming from the modern era to the Song Dynasty.

I secretly burned the rest of the clothes and other odds and ends.

I twisted the blade, tucking it into the hilt. It was a very ordinary knife in modern times, and also my only weapon for self-defense, both in modern and ancient times. I put the knife in my sleeve and stared blankly at the slowly falling snow outside the window.

Time flies so fast; there's only a month left until Lunar New Year's Eve. Madam Yun has sent Ah Niu and Uncle Yang to help with the New Year's shopping, while Youhua went to Aunt Xu and Su Sanshou to pick up gold thread knots and embroidery. The only ones left in the entire manor are Yun Yiyang and me, idly passing the time. Madam Yun specifically asked Yun Yiyang and me to stay at the manor so that she could have some alone time with me, but now it seems she's probably just playing matchmaker.

Yun Yiyang stood outside the door, staring straight at me, his face flushed red. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer, "Sister Bai... Sister Bai... Today we... we..."

I looked up at him, somewhat surprised: "Aren't we supposed to have a good rest today? We finally have this opportunity?"

"But...but..." Yun Yiyang bit his lip for a long time, stammering, "But it's just the two of us at the villa today, we can't..."

"What do you mean?" I deliberately interjected, "Aren't there still a few maids and farmhands here? If you want to go out to buy things, they'll accompany you."

"But...but..." Yun Yiyang was about to speak when the little maid Lingdang ran in and said loudly, "Sister Bai, a man named Meng Qing has three or four attendants and wants to see you and Young Master Yun." These little maids are used to joking with me and call me Sister Bai, but they call Yun Yiyang Young Master.

"Oh? What's he doing here?" I stood up, casually picked up a black cloak and draped it over my shoulders, then smiled at Lingdang'er and said, "Thank you. Tell them to wait in the flower hall, we'll be right there." Turning to look at Yun Yiyang, I asked curiously, "Hey, why aren't you ready yet?"

Yun Yiyang stood there for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said in a low, almost inaudible voice, "That bastard, why did he have to come at such a bad time!"

Chapter Fourteen: Snow Like Plum Blossoms

I tightened the sash around my neck and asked in surprise, "Why is Meng Qing here? Ever since my identity as a woman became known to everyone, he has declared that he will no longer do business with Guiyun Manor. Why is he here at this time today... cough cough—" Suddenly, my throat felt itchy, and a loud cough came out of my mouth. A slightly salty liquid with a fishy smell flowed down my throat and into my mouth, with a few drops spraying onto my hand that was covering my mouth.

Yun Yiyang exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Bai! What's wrong? Why do you look so pale today?" I removed my hand from my mouth and slipped it into my sleeve, pretending not to care, and said, "It's nothing, it's probably just the cold weather that's causing my persistent cough. It'll be fine in a few days... Let's go now." After thinking for a moment, I said to Yun Yiyang, "You go to the flower hall first, I'll go put on another layer of clothing and come back." Yun Yiyang nodded and said, "Sister, you should wear more clothes, it's quite cold now!" Then she turned and left.

Watching him gradually disappear into the distance, I pulled my hand out of my sleeve and slowly unfolded it—

In the snow-white palm, there were several bright red drops of blood.

"Although I had met Minister Bai before, it was only on this trip that I was able to see your beautiful face. This trip has truly been worthwhile," Meng Qing said with a smile, cupping his hands in greeting.

I smiled slightly, offered a few perfunctory words, and casually picked up my teacup to take a sip of fragrant tea, yet a nameless annoyance lingered in my heart. Since I resumed my female attire, fewer merchants had come to do business with Guiyun Manor, and countless rumors circulated. Some said my relationship with Yun Yiyang was unusual, while others claimed that although Yun Yiyang was the young master of Guiyun Manor, he had actually lost power. Fortunately, Yun Yiyang was naturally cheerful and never paid any attention to such nonsense. Moreover, Ye Zhiqiu's Qiuye Pavilion had begun to resume business with Guiyun Manor, showing signs of forming an alliance, which had recently boosted Guiyun Manor's business. However, as a woman, I no longer felt the carefree joy I had when disguised as a man when dealing with merchants. For some reason, Meng Qing's flattering words failed to arouse much interest in me, but I suddenly felt that Ye Zhiqiu, though living behind closed doors, was mysterious and unpredictable compared to him. But in terms of swift action and decisiveness, Ye Zhi Qiu, who was "ill" in a state of disrespect, was far more endearing than the snobbish merchant before him! Just as his thoughts were wandering, he heard Meng Qing say again, "Last time, I bought three bolts of Liaoling from Guiyun Manor. I didn't expect that after returning to Yizhou, there would be so many buyers! They were sold out in less than three days. This time, I heard that Guiyun Manor's newly woven 'Huifeng Liuxue' is an improvement on the Liaoling weaving technique. It is lighter, softer, and smoother than Liaoling, but the price is 20% lower. So I came to ask Young Master Yun for it again."

Yun Yiyang smiled calmly and said, "Brother Meng, what are you saying? In business, it is important to sell to those who know their value. No matter who the textiles from Guiyun Manor are sold to, the transaction is always completed on a cash-on-delivery basis, and neither party owes the other anything. Brother Meng, you are being too kind to ask for anything."

Meng Qing laughed heartily, took a small, delicate silk package from the servant behind him, placed his hands on the package, slowly rose and walked to me. As he carefully untied the slipknot, he said slowly, “In the past, Meng Qing has offended the White-Robed Prime Minister many times. I have prepared this small token of my respect; I hope the Prime Minister will accept it with a smile.”

He stood in front of me, his chubby, white hands almost untying the last knot in the package... I suddenly noticed a cunning and vicious glint in Meng Qingru's dead-fish-like eyes!

That look instantly reminded me of the most venomous snake, the green bamboo snake!

"Please accept this, Your Excellency—" Meng Qing smiled, untied the last knot, reached into the package, and then naturally took a step forward. Almost simultaneously with his step forward, I instinctively stepped back—

A streak of green light, like a bamboo thread, shot from Meng Qing's hand and flew towards my chest! Startled, I bent my knees backward, shifting my weight and leaning my entire body backward—

When I started to dodge, I already knew that I couldn't avoid this assassination! By the time I leaned forward enough to dodge, this unknown weapon would have already pierced through my chest!

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Tick-tock... tick-tock...

It was the sound of blood dripping onto the ground.

I didn't experience the near-death pain I expected. In fact, I didn't experience any pain at all.

But what I heard was indeed the sound of water droplets splashing on the ground.

I slowly opened my eyes, but involuntarily let out a scream—

Yun Yiyang's face still wore a bright, sunny smile, his hand tightly gripping the blade of a slender, thin short sword. Blood continuously seeped from between his fingers, dripping onto the ground. Meanwhile, the hilt was in Meng Qing's hand, his face a terrifying, ashen blue, his teeth chattering, his entire body trembling with fear. It was as if he had witnessed the most horrific thing in the world.

Yun Yiyang remained unfazed, as if his bleeding hand belonged to someone else. A murderous aura slowly emanated from his entire body as he slowly asked, "Who sent you to kill Sister Bai?"