Двойная увертюра

Глава 9

"Mmm." Xiaoyue nodded seriously. Xiaodao looked around, then leaned over and whispered something in Xiaoyue's ear.

"Fiancé?" Xiaoyue exclaimed in surprise, and Xiaodao quickly rushed over to cover her mouth, "Shh!"

Next door, Xue Beifan stroked his chin against the wall, while Chonghua leaned against the bed and put down the file in his hand. "Wang Bibo's fiancée?"

"Oh dear." Xue Beifan shrugged. "So she's already taken! How awful."

Chonghua looked at him with a smile, "You've taken a fancy to that crazy girl?"

"Don't you think it's quite interesting? He's so lively and energetic." Xue Beifan walked back, looking thoughtful. "Wang Bibo is a famous handsome man in the martial arts world. It's said that hundreds or even thousands of girls wait to catch a glimpse of him every day at his door and by the Bibo Lake. How did he get involved with this Yan Xiaodao?"

...

"Run away from your marriage?" Xiaoyue was surprised to hear Xiaodao's words. "You were engaged to Wang Bibo, and you ran away from your marriage, so you're wandering the world alone?"

"Hmm." Xiao Dao hugged her pillow and nodded, looking aggrieved.

Xiaoyue was puzzled. "I often hear the young master say that Wang Bibo is the richest man in Jiangnan, a famously handsome man, and also skilled in martial arts. His Nine Pearl Dragon Pool is renowned in the martial arts world, and he has connections in the imperial court. Everyone in the martial arts world says that if you're going to marry, you should marry Wang Bibo... Why did you run away from such a good marriage?"

"I wouldn't even look at him!" Xiao Dao jumped up, pointing at the mirror. "Would you like a man prettier than you?!"

Seeing Xiaodao standing on the bed looking aggressive, Xiaoyue pulled her down to sit. "You ran away from your wedding just because he's handsome?"

"In short, I can't stand anything about him!" Xiao Dao pouted. "Besides, it's not like I willingly agreed to this marriage; it's all my master's fault!"

"Your master arranged this marriage for you?"

"Speaking of that Wang Bibo, he makes me so angry!" Xiaodao said earnestly to Xiaoyue.

Xue Beifan next door made a face at Chonghua, "Do you think this crazy girl has something wrong with her head? In her eyes, there isn't a single good man!"

Chonghua glanced at Hao Jinfeng, who was snoring loudly on the bed, and whispered in Xue Beifan's ear, "As far as I know, Hao Jiulong and Yan Ruyu were together for a while back then, and there were rumors that they even got married and had children. But after Hao Jiulong returned to the underworld, he seemed to turn his back on her."

Xue Beifan's eyes widened. "Then isn't he a heartless man? Then..." He pointed at Hao Jinfeng, then at Yan Xiaodao next door, "Could they be siblings?"

Chonghua nodded slightly, "I haven't heard that Yan Ruyu has remarried, nor have I heard that Hao Jiulong has remarried. These two children are probably their offspring."

"Oh..." Xue Beifan nodded, "No wonder Xiao Dao ran away as soon as he saw Hao Jinfeng!"

As the two were talking, Hao Jinfeng suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

Chonghua and Xue Beifan gasped, thinking, "No way?! This kid is such a jerk for pretending to be asleep?"

But then Hao Jinfeng sat on the bed, swaying from side to side, and asked groggily, "Who called me?"

The two looked at each other and pointed at one another.

Hao Jinfeng tilted his head, clearly puzzled.

"It's okay, you can go back to sleep." Xue Beifan waved his hand, and Hao Jinfeng nodded, "Okay." He lay down... and continued snoring.

Xue Beifan and Chonghua exchanged glances, and finally Xue Beifan called out in an extremely soft voice, "Hao Jinfeng?"

"Huh?" Hao Jinfeng suddenly woke up again.

Xue Beifan chuckled—he didn't know how this kid had developed such a skill; he woke up as soon as someone called his name!

In the next room, Xiao Dao recounted in detail to Xiao Yue how she got engaged to Wang Bibo.

Xiaoyue exclaimed in surprise, "Your master is using you to pay off his gambling debts? That's outrageous!"

"What's even worse is that Wang Bibo!" Xiao Dao threw a pillow. "I saw how rude he was to women, so I said to him, 'He's not that good-looking, what's with all the arrogance?' and he tried to force me to marry him! He even spread rumors that I was his betrothed, making people who know me afraid to propose, so I can't get married! That's why I say, good-looking men are bad-hearted, the better-looking they are, the worse-hearted they are. Men who are more beautiful than women have hearts that are as fine as a needlepoint, so petty!"

Xiaoyue was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did your mother say that again?"

Xiao Dao looked up at her. "How did you know?"

Xiaoyue chuckled and reached out to pat her head, saying, "Your mother is so funny."

"Tsk tsk." Next door, Xue Beifan shook his head and muttered to Chonghua, "Do you think if Hao Jiulong really is a heartless man, Yan Ruyu would make paper figures at home and hammer nails into them every day?"

Chonghua chuckled dryly, "Wang Bibo is really ruthless, tormenting this girl like this over such a small matter?"

"Maybe he really wants to marry her." Xue Beifan wasn't sure if he was serious or joking. "That Yan Xiaodao is like a hedgehog. If you marry her and bully her a little, she'll explode and jump around making pointless struggles. If you bully her even more, she'll fight back. Wouldn't that be hilarious?"

Chonghua opened his mouth, looking at him like he was scum, "Xue Beifan, you hopeless scoundrel!"

Xue Beifan, shameless as ever, cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "You're too kind."

Next door, Xiao Dao was fiddling with his mask while hugging his pillow. "Wang Bibo is very shrewd. He might be discovered. I need to disguise myself again."

Xiaoyue thought for a moment, "How about..."

"Not as good as what?" Xiao Dao looked up at her.

"Just say you're engaged to someone else, that way you can get rid of him," Xiaoyue said. As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Xiaodao standing there, thinking she had said something wrong. After all, a girl's reputation is important, and she shouldn't say things carelessly.

"Xiaoyue!"

Xiaoyue was startled, and then saw Xiaodao suddenly rush over and grab her, excitedly saying, "Great idea!"

"Is...is that so?" Xiaoyue asked uncertainly.

Xiao Dao flung her mask away and stood up. "I'm not wearing a mask! Wang Bibo, you petty bastard! You forced me to get married and made me unable to marry. Fine! I'll make you a cuckold!"

"puff……"

Next door, Xue Beifan spat out a mouthful of tea, then gave a thumbs-up to the dumbfounded Chonghua, exclaiming, "A true gem!"

Bad guys meet bad guys

The next morning, Xue Beifan got up very early and stood at the bow of the boat. The boat sailed on the river, surrounded by a vast expanse of misty water, with the morning light bathing the entire lake surface.

"Phew..." Xue Beifan took a long breath, feeling incredibly refreshed. Feeling a bit hungry, he turned towards the kitchen at the stern of the boat, hoping to find something to eat, but then he heard someone humming a little tune.

Xue Beifan was curious, so he walked to the door and peered inside.

Yan Xiaodao was already up, dressed in a light blue long skirt with a blue and white brocade jacket over it. The sleeves, with their lotus-root-colored edges rolled up, revealed her fair arms, and she was wrapping wontons. She was humming a little tune as she did so. A few specks of white flour clung to her smooth face, making her look playful.

Xue Beifan found it amusing; this girl was in great spirits, jumping around like a madman so early in the morning.

"Ahem." He coughed at the door, which successfully caught Xiao Dao's attention.

Xiao Dao turned around and glanced at Xue Beifan, somewhat surprised. "You're up so early?"

"Don't I look like an early riser?" Xue Beifan leaped over the threshold and swaggered over to her side.

Xiao Dao thought to himself, "Aren't all lecherous thieves indulging in a life of debauchery and debauchery, sleeping during the day and out gallivanting at night?"

Xue Beifan's attention, however, was entirely focused on the row of wontons on the cutting board. He leaned closer to smell them and asked, "What kind of filling is it?"

"Shepherd's purse, shiitake mushrooms, pork, and diced bamboo shoots." Xiao Dao waved the knife a couple of times with a hint of pride. "Yan family's signature dish!" Two curls of her long, coiled hair swayed back and forth, lively and amusing.

Xue Beifan leaned against the stove and asked her, "Aren't there any maids on the ship? Why do you have to get up so early to cook?"

Xiao Dao rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't maids human? Who says maids have to cook for guests, and guests can't cook for maids?"

Xue Beifan blinked. "That's what maids are for! Otherwise, why hire maids?"

"Heh." Xiao Dao patted the flour off his hands. "What girl is born with the word 'maid' written on her forehead?" As he spoke, he poked Xue Beifan's forehead with his sharp finger, leaving a white mark.

Xue Beifan touched his forehead, leaned over to look at the dozens of wontons that had already been wrapped, and saw that they were all the same size, round and plump, like little gold ingots. He couldn't help but praise, "Your skills are not bad. Do you often work at home?"

"Hmm," Xiao Dao replied, rummaging through drawers and cabinets. "Do you have any scallions or garlic cloves?"

At this moment, the maids and servants got up. When they entered the kitchen and saw that breakfast had been prepared, they were startled and quickly chased the two away.

Xiao Dao was being dragged outside by Xue Beifan, still bouncing around as he shouted towards the kitchen, "Xiao Cui, use plain water for the broth! Xiao Yu, don't use the broth from cooking wontons as the broth! Xiao Lan, add scallions and egg skin... tiger stripes!"

Xue Beifan sighed helplessly, "Are you a magpie reincarnated? Why are you so loud?"

Xiao Dao waved his hand, keeping a certain distance from him, scooped up water to wash his face and hands, and asked, "You were eavesdropping last night, weren't you?"

Xue Beifan found a rattan couch, sat down, and crossed his legs to look at the lake view. "What wall base?"

"Don't play dumb." Xiao Dao came over. "I'm going to teach Wang Bibo a lesson. You'd better give me a hand."

Xue Beifan looked up at Xiao Dao and said seriously, "You want me to pretend to be your lover?"

"Hmm!" Little Knife Tiger patted Xue Beifan on the back. "Help me get rid of Wang Bibo! Make him cancel the engagement."

"Sounds like a thankless task." Xue Beifan looked Xiao Dao up and down, and asked in a drawn-out tone, "What's in it for me?"

Xiao Dao frowned, pointed a finger at Xue Beifan's nose, and said, "You two brothers tricked me into this treasure hunt, and I've suffered so much! You won't even help with such a small favor? Believe me or not, I'll ambush you while I'm looking for something!"

Xue Beifan scratched his cheek and looked at Xiao Dao. "It's not that I don't want to help you. You see, Wang Bibo is a well-known good man in the martial arts world. He's handsome, rich, and powerful. If you drag me along, will you upset him?"

Xiao Dao narrowed his eyes slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up. "Tsk tsk, you're quite pretentious. My mother was right. If you need a man to help you with something, it's better to provoke him than to beg him, and better to lie to him than to provoke him."

Xue Beifan reached for the teacup the maid had brought over, and looked at Xiao Dao with great interest. "Then try to provoke me, try to fool me?"

Xiao Dao paced back and forth at the bow of the boat, his hands behind his back. "The Five Dragon Bone Diagrams are in Wang Bibo's Nine Pearl Dragon Pool. How can you get the treasure if you don't go inside his house?"

"What kind of provocation is this?"

"Actually, you don't need to be so insecure," Xiao Dao said to himself. "Wang Bibo is good-looking, but you're not bad either! You're much more manly than him. Although he's rich, you're not poor either, and your kung fu might even be better than his. Anyway, even if you're inferior to him in all these aspects, the key is that you have a foul mouth and are shameless!"

"Hey, I told you not to lie to me, but I didn't tell you to shiver."

Xiao Dao sat down on the rattan chair next to him. "I'll help you find the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams, and you help me get Wang Bibo to cancel the engagement. We each get what we want!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Bei curled his lips into a wicked smile, "Alright, let's each get what we need."

Xiao Dao was happily waiting to eat her wontons when Xue Beifan reached out and hugged her, saying, "Well, since we're in that kind of relationship, we should get closer... pfft."

Xue Beifan was so focused on taking advantage that he didn't notice Xiao Dao snatching the tea tray and slamming it down on him.

When Chonghua and Xiaoyue got up and went outside, they saw Xue Beifan being pressed down on a rattan couch on the deck. Xiaodao was hitting him hard with a tea tray, cursing, "You lecherous scoundrel, how dare you take advantage of me! I'll beat you to death!"

...

The wontons in the early morning are especially delicious. Xiaodao held a bowl and explained to Xiaoyue in detail how to mix the wonton filling to make it fresh and delicious.

Xue Beifan grinned as he ate. That brat was really ruthless, slapping him until he was covered in bruises. She probably thought his face was still useful, so she held back and didn't leave him with a black eye and a swollen face.

Seeing his expression, Chonghua lowered her voice and asked, "You agreed to play the role of a fake lover?"

"Or you can do it?"

"Forget it." Chonghua quickly waved his hand. "Everyone in the martial arts world knows that Wang Bibo is not easy to deal with. You'd better be careful."

"Heh." Xue Beifan looked at Xiaodao, who had finished eating wontons and was looking at the lotus flowers on the bow of the boat with Xiaoyue. "Guess who she would like if she doesn't even like Wang Bibo?"

Chonghua chuckled, "This isn't something you, Second Young Master Xue, would be interested in."