"Beautiful woman, beautiful..." The same tune was uttered, but the speaker suddenly stopped after seeing the person next to me.
Meeting him wasn't surprising; after all, Xianfangzhou was the biggest and best restaurant in Lin'an. But were the two men and one woman behind him traveling with him? I guessed right; of course, they would know the imperial relatives.
Looking up at Nangong Ling, I saw that he had a strange smile on his face, and his eyes were incredibly cunning as he looked at the man in purple. I felt a chill run down my spine.
Thinking something was amiss, I was dragged upstairs by him.
Do you know that person?
"Which one?" He took my hand and started playing with my fingers again.
"The man in the purple clothes."
"Oh." He shook his head. "I don't know him."
"..."
Why did I ask him? I really shouldn't have asked him.
Are you angry?
I think my temper has really improved. "No, I just regret it."
He raised an eyebrow, pursed his lips, and didn't follow up with my question.
Looking straight at him, a small flame in my heart began to burn brighter and brighter.
"Do you remember those three arrows from last time?" He smiled and smoothed the stray hairs from my forehead.
"The poisoned arrow that kept Shao Ming in bed for a month? I remember, so what?"
“The people below are all connected to the mastermind behind that incident, and their connection is quite close.”
"Really? I don't care if it's shallow or deep, I'm hungry."
He pinched my nose with a hint of exasperation, "You glutton."
It wasn't until I was full and had a cup of tea that I suddenly remembered how he had easily changed the subject and calmed me down.
"You've met those people before?" he asked as he wiped my mouth with a handkerchief.
"I met him on my first day in Lin'an."
"I will stay away from them from now on."
"Why? Didn't you say you didn't know him?"
"The young marquis is one thing, but the key is his father and that man in purple..." As he spoke, his face pressed closer, "They are both ruthless killers. How can the fighting and killing in the martial world compare to the intrigue and power struggles in the palace? I don't need to teach you the principle that it's easy to defend against open attacks but hard to guard against hidden arrows."
"What makes you so cautious?"
"They're all royalty now. Are we ordinary folks supposed to be careful or just wait to get beheaded?"
Nobody would believe that. Who has ever bowed down to you, Nangong Ling?
"...Let's go back, it's cold outside."
"You get so lazy in winter. I wish you were this easy to take care of all year round."
"Dream on, I'll get it all back with interest next spring."
"Alright, whatever you say." He smiled, his eyes full of amusement.
After we got back, he kept me hanging around the mansion for over a month. Every day, he would drag me out to go fishing with him early in the morning, or take me to the kitchen to help him with chores, or force me to practice kung fu with him. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would play chess or write calligraphy. In short, he didn't care about anything important and was always thinking about how to keep me from having any personal time.
Hmph! Just wait until next spring, you'll be in for a beating!
Chapter 84
In mid-March, before the sun had warmed, a letter from the north hurriedly carried Nangong Ling away. I didn't have the energy to ride with him at full speed, so I slowly followed behind him in a small carriage.
Upon arriving in Anqing, I stayed at Chunhe Hall. Master Fu came out to greet me, treating me with the utmost respect, as if I were his own mother. He was a snobbish, opportunistic fellow. Years ago, when I was down on my luck and stayed in Anqing, this same man saw me on the street and acted arrogantly, looking down on me. If I hadn't walked away quickly, he probably would have unleashed a torrent of sarcastic remarks.
"The other day, when Your Majesty was too busy to ask, where did that scoundrel Gemini An go?"
Qiongying kept me company while I had afternoon tea, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds.
"He knew it was hopeless when he saw Yunzhi arrive, so he went off to have some fun on his own. He'll be back to haunt us soon."
"Why is his personality so different from his brother's? Doesn't he know how to calm down?"
"If Gemini An knew what it meant to be quiet, even pigs could fly."
"That's true." Qiongying nodded, her eyes slightly unfocused. "...Is that one in front of you a human or a ghost?"
I was startled and followed her gaze, only to see a tall, imposing, and mysterious figure floating atop the artificial hill.
"Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight?" I pointed over. "See that? There's a shadow."
"Oh." Only then did her eyes begin to move. "You should have said so earlier. There's no way to scare someone like that."
So that's how it is; Qiongying is actually afraid of ghosts.
"What kind of monster are you? State your name!"
I shouted at the figure, which earned me a twitching look from Qiong Ying.
"My name is Luo Sheng, and I am a human, not a demon."
"What brings you to Chunhetang?" I stepped forward and looked at him closely. He looked strangely familiar. Brother, have we met somewhere before?
"My master wishes to see Lady Nangong one more time."
"Which one is your master?" See you again? So you've met before? Who is it?
"You'll see when you see it, Madam."
"Then I don't want to know."
Perhaps I turned too abruptly, because he was stunned for a moment before recovering.
"As expected, you are not someone who will easily submit. Forgive my rudeness."
Before I could even see when he moved his foot, he had already flashed over and was fighting Qiong Ying. I really don't know whether to say this guy is too bold or too confident, that he actually dared to make a move on someone else's turf all by himself.
If soft tactics don't work, then hard tactics will. If I were to go with you to see your master, and whatever conditions your master offered, I would definitely not agree to them, and I would definitely use the same approach. There are ways to stir up trouble, and I'm not getting involved in this mess.
Watching them fight for a while with his head tilted, Luo Sheng probably didn't expect Qiong Ying to be so skilled. He was entangled with her and couldn't break free for a while.
I took a sip of tea, waved my sleeves, and left. If I didn't slip away now, when would I ever get another chance?
People always like to complain that things don't go as planned or that fate doesn't cooperate. Why? Because the probability of such things happening is just too high!
I slipped away through the side door, only to find the back door wide open. A woman dressed in simple white, as elegant as a cold plum blossom, stood quietly, calm and composed. She was quite pleasing to the eye, but seeing her gave me goosebumps.
"You're like a persistent ghost, what exactly do you want?"
"It's your good fortune to be noticed by me, but don't get too cocky. I only chose you because you have some use to me."
You have such big eyes, how could you possibly see that I'm smug? People these days really know how to talk to themselves.
"Pah, I don't care." It's just that winter is here and I don't have much energy, so I'm too lazy to deal with you all. You all think I've been worn down and have no temper, right?
The woman was startled, probably because she had never been treated like this before. She gritted her teeth and glared at me fiercely.
"What can you do to me? What can you possibly do to me?"
I regretted asking the question not long after, especially when I saw the contemptuous smile on the woman's face.
"This temper won't win me over. I've always preferred obedient women."
I don't care if you like it or not, but when I see you guys, only two words come to mind: trouble!
"Oh, what a boring and arrogant man. I wouldn't take him even if he paid me."
After saying that, I immediately lifted my skirt and ran. I had been practicing my kung fu with Yunzhi for a while, and I had finally regained some of my lightness skills. The feeling of the wind whistling past my ears was really nice.
However, after only a mile, the woman easily caught up with me, smiling, running alongside me with complete ease.
"Now that I've set my sights on you, do you think you can escape?"
Why does this sound so familiar? Please, can you come up with something new? It's one thing that Nangong Ling is uncreative, but I've gotten used to it over the years. He really has no sincerity at all.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew martial arts earlier? You made me run so hard, it was such a waste of my energy."
The woman paused for a moment, "If I had told you first, would you have stopped running away?"
"Why run? You're just asking for trouble. It's not worth it."
She was astonished, staring at me blankly, her eyes wide with surprise.
"You should be glad it's still late winter or early spring. If it were summer, I would definitely play with you guys."
"you……"
"Could you tell me your identities before I go with you?"
I'm actually quite curious. Since we're going to enter the tiger's den, it's best to figure out the situation first.
She flashed an incredibly proud and beautiful smile, "You'll know when you see the master."
I shrugged and followed her into a side alley. "You didn't do anything to the people at Chunhetang, did you?"
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just used a little sleeping potion that people from the Western Regions like to use. It wasn't much, but it was very effective. I just need to get a good night's sleep."
Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but sneer inwardly. If we don't eliminate them now, we'll have to eliminate them one day anyway. Do you still think you're no threat? Being too confident always leads to trouble.