After reading the poem on the paper, Baili Qingyi saw that Yin Wuxiao looked bewildered and understood about 70-80% of it. His anger rose uncontrollably.
"You boarded his pleasure boat alone?" His gentleness and caution vanished, replaced by a stern gaze.
"Yes." Yin Wuxiao straightened his neck.
"Didn't you know his intentions beforehand?"
"So what if I know, and so what if I don't?"
Baili Qingyi trembled all over: "Do you want to become his concubine?"
"Didn't I come back unharmed? I don't want to talk about this." Yin Wuxiao lowered his eyes, not wanting to recall unpleasant memories.
Baili Qingyi stared at the woman before him, a familiar sense of powerlessness washing over him. He couldn't control her, and he could never truly understand her thoughts. This woman was too resilient, too ruthless to herself, and too eccentric; he never knew what she would do next.
The lady angrily urged the beautiful woman to sit on the moonlit flower, while the top scholar built a new ivory bed.
A single fragrant branch, glistening with dew, was unexpectedly taken into the twelve rooms of the West Wing.
The twelve rooms in the west wing were taken in...
"How dare he write such a poem to you..." Baili Qingyi gripped the paper tightly, wanting to tear Deng Qinghui to pieces. "Did he do anything to you?"
"No."
"How could there not be? The person who could write such poems, who could write such vulgar and obscene poems... what he thinks is a hundred or a thousand times more obscene than what is written in his poems..."
"Baili Qingyi!" Yin Wuxiao roared, "Do you think I'm a weak woman incapable of protecting myself? Do you think I don't know there are many filthy people in this world? What right do you have to lecture me?"
She could no longer maintain her composure and self-control in front of others. This man, who had been through so much with her, knew her joys and sorrows, and had seen through her completely, could not believe that she could protect herself?
"Why don't I have the right to lecture you?" Baili Qingyi's composure vanished in an instant. "You're not a member of the martial world, you have no martial arts skills to defend yourself. If that person had malicious intentions, how could you escape? Tell me, how are you going to use your so-called cleverness and wisdom to escape? Xiao'er, since we parted ways at Baiwen Manor, I thought you would have made some progress, but I didn't expect you to still be so willful and so emotional!"
Yin Wuxiao trembled, his phoenix eyes fixed on him, turning red. How dare he mention Hundred Questions Manor? He actually had the nerve to mention it?
"Baili Qingyi, I am not a member of the martial world, and I am not under the jurisdiction of your Baili Mansion. You uphold your own martial world justice, what does it have to do with me? You used me to fulfill your father's last wish, you used me to investigate the secrets within the Qiao Gang, do you think I don't know these things? You've used me all you want, can't you at least let me have a few days of peace? When I left with Mu Li at Baiwen Manor, you didn't interfere, so who I marry in the future, whether as a wife or a concubine, is none of your business! Baili Qingyi, no matter how many people like and admire you, I, Yin Wuxiao, don't care. From this day forward, for all eternity, I will have nothing to do with you!"
The words she uttered in her rage had already taken a toll on her strength, but she forced herself to stand up defiantly and look him straight in the eye, her expression noble and unapproachable. Only the turmoil in her chest betrayed her turbulent inner turmoil.
Baili Qingyi was stunned, taken aback by her resolute expression.
Her words lingered in his mind like a mountain bell. Yes, she knew everything. He realized that she saw right through him, that he had no halo imposed by the martial arts world, only the darkness and cowardice that even he himself disdained.
He held his breath, trying to soothe her anger with a calm tone, but what came out was a bitter smile: "Xiao'er, I admit, I used you. I won't argue, but... but am I really so worthless in your heart? If that's the case, then why..." He paused, his eyes brightening, his tenderness bordering on humility: "Xiao'er, ask yourself honestly, do you really have no feelings for me at all? Then why did you run around for my injury? You knelt for three days and three nights at the foot of Tianshan Mountain for me, forced Bai Can to enter the palace to steal ginseng for me, and went to beg Mu Wanfeng for me. There must be a reason for all of this."
Yin Wuxiao was captivated by his tender, almost pleading question, and she was stunned.
The room was quiet.
Yin Wuxiao let out a slow breath, his bright eyes welling up with tears. He finally asked.
He asked, so she couldn't not answer; she couldn't lie to him, and she couldn't lie to herself. She couldn't do it.
So she said softly:
"Yes, I, Yin Wuxiao, have fallen for you."
Baili Qingyi's chest pounded like a drum.
Yin Wuxiao continued, not even glancing at him: "You, Young Master Qingyi, are loved by everyone in the martial world. Countless heroines and beauties are crazy about you, and I'm no different. But who says that just because I like you, I have to marry you wholeheartedly? Who says that just because I like you, I have to be at your beck and call? Don't I have my own opinions and principles?"
Baili Qingyi was stunned; he never expected to receive such an answer.
Yin Wuxiao gently turned her head to look at him, her expression pained:
"You... only say ambiguous things and do ambiguous things, but you never let anyone know what you're really thinking. Now you've forced me to say these things, and you're happy? You're happy, aren't you?"
"Are you smug now? Happy? I... I don't want to see you again, never again." She sounded like a wronged little girl.
Baili Qingyi stared blankly at her, watching tears well up in her eyes, sliding down her snow-white cheeks, flowing down her delicate chin, and dripping onto the ground. He reached out to catch them, but when he caught one, he abruptly pulled his hand back. The tear burned his palm, but chilled him to the bone.
"I thought I was smart all my life, but when I encountered love, all my careful calculations turned out to be foolish," Baili Qingyi sighed.
He took out a small jade pendant and gently placed it in Yin Wuxiao's hand.
"Xiao'er, this jade pendant is my most precious possession. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, just have someone bring this jade pendant to Baili Prefecture in the capital, and I will come immediately. You..." He reached out to stroke her cheek and wipe away her tears, but when he met her unfriendly tearful eyes, he had no choice but to give up.
"My feelings for you have been there for more than just a day or two, or even a year or two. I hope you can understand, I hope you can comprehend, yet I fear you are too clever, too insightful. It's just that... alas, it was not my intention to hurt you. Please be careful in everything you do from now on... You are the most extraordinary woman in this world. I believe you can live well without me."
He steeled his heart, turned around, and stepped out of the room.
Xiao'er, oh Xiao'er, do you know that you can live a good life without me, but without you, I would not be myself.
Yin Wuxiao sat there, gazing at the jade pendant, lost in thought, for the entire night.
Why did it turn out this way? She couldn't figure it out.
Baili Qingyi's words seemed to imply that she didn't like him enough.
What a joke! Did he ever lower himself to show even the slightest bit of his true feelings for her?
Men are all self-righteous bastards, and Baili Qingyi is the biggest bastard of them all!
As dawn broke, Yin Wuxiao could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep from exhaustion.
Little did he know that he had only taken a nap when Yun'er barged into the room, shouting and yelling.
"Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened!"
"What happened?" Yun'er rarely acted so carelessly; something serious must have happened. Yin Wuxiao opened his eyes, which were red and swollen.
"Miss, someone from the Prince's manor has sent word that Miss Mansi has been imprisoned!"
"What?" Yin Wuxiao suddenly stood up. Impossible. If Deng Qing were trying to frame someone, it wouldn't have happened so quickly. Besides, he told her yesterday to think it over carefully. How could he reveal his trump card so soon?
Did they say what the reason was?
"It seems that... she offended some princess or noblewoman. But it was the Second Prince who personally ordered Miss Mansi to be imprisoned."
Yin Wuxiao pondered for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and said, "Yun'er, prepare the carriage. I need to go to the Ministry of Justice prison."
The ordeal at Seven Absolutes Cliff shattered not only the deep understanding between Yin Wuxiao and Baili Qingyi, but also the sixteen-year relationship between Shi Mansi and Cen Lu.
Cen Lu was seriously injured. Although he received timely medical treatment, it could only save his physical body. When Cen Lu woke up, he had no memories of Shi Mansi or the Yin family from the past sixteen years.
Even Baili Hanyi was at a loss. Before she could even summon the renowned physician Xuan Hegu, the palace dispatched the Black Feather Guards to take Cen Lu away, and he was never heard from again. Meanwhile, the Prince's Mansion in the capital now had a second prince who had disappeared for sixteen years.
Yin Wuxiao sometimes felt that the old empress dowager in the palace was like a cunning deity, who knew everything and manipulated everything.
On the day Cen Lu left, Shi Mansi stood in front of the door for a long time, and then said something.
She said, "The time has finally come for me to repay what I owe him."
By the time Yin Wuxiao had smoothed things over with all the relevant parties and finally saw Shi Mansi in prison, it was already dark.
Yin Wuxiao entered the prison and saw Man Si looking desolate, wearing dirty prison clothes, trapped in wooden bars. The cell was filled with mud and water, and infested with insects and rats. He couldn't help but shed tears.
"Mansi, why are you doing this to yourself?"
"Awu, it's you." Shi Mansi looked stunned, glanced at her once, and then lowered her head.
"Awu, am I being a fool? He clearly doesn't remember me, but I still have the nerve to go to his door and be his maid or servant."
Yin Wuxiao was speechless for a moment.
“I would never have done something like this before. But A-Lu is different, he’s different…” Shi Mansi murmured, seemingly a little confused.
"Mansi, why is Alu angry with you and even personally ordered you to be imprisoned?" Yin Wuxiao perked up and asked about the important matter first.
Shi Mansi smiled bitterly: "He's not just angry with me, he clearly wants to kill me."
"Mansi!" Yin Wuxiao scolded her, "What time is it? Why don't you tell me the whole story?"
Man Si glanced at her lazily and said, "A Wu, you don't need to save me. It's no use saving me anyway."
"What do you mean?" Yin Wuxiao asked in a panic.
"There is only one person who can save me. If he doesn't come to save me, I'll just die here." Shi Mansi lowered her head and said sadly, completely different from the lively and energetic Miss Shi a few months ago.
"Mansi!" Yin Wuxiao gasped. "You...you're talking nonsense! You have many friends in the martial arts world, getting out of this Ministry of Justice prison shouldn't be difficult for you, right? At the very least, I'll pay someone to break you out of prison, I'll get you out!"
“Awu…” Shi Mansi’s eyes welled up with tears. “I am grateful to you, for it was worth it for us to be best friends for life. But, but to escape like this without knowing why, I would rather die than do it.”
"Are you afraid that if you escape, your crimes won't be cleared, and you'll never dare to appear in front of A-Lu again?" Yin Wuxiao instantly understood her thoughts.
“That’s right.” Shi Mansi smiled. “I want to be by his side openly and honestly, so no one can say anything.”
"Mansi!" Yin Wuxiao exclaimed anxiously, "For a man, for love, you're willing to risk your life? What if he doesn't come to save you? What if he doesn't remember you anymore? What if he's determined to kill you..."
“Then I shall die here; this is my fate.” Shi Mansi’s words were as sharp as steel.
“You…” Yin Wuxiao gritted her teeth. After a long while, she slumped back, glaring at Shi Mansi’s back, and said fiercely, “Fine, whatever you want, I will do for you. If you want to leave with a clean record, I will clear your name. In this life, you are my only sister, and now you are my only family. What can’t I do for you?”
She sighed, turned and left without looking back.
Shi Mansi wept uncontrollably behind her.
“Awu, what I owe him, I can repay, but what I owe you, I can never repay.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Incense Smokes Leisurely, Phoenixes Flutter (Part Three)
Yin Wuxiao spent a large sum of money to bribe the jailer, repeatedly instructing him to take good care of Mansi. After returning to the Yin residence, he racked his brains for a plan, but after thinking for half a day, he still couldn't come up with a good one.
By the morning of the second day, she finally gave up, sighed deeply, and summoned Yun'er.
"Take this jade pendant and go to Baili Mansion in Liu Family Alley in the west of the city to find Young Master Baili in blue. Tell him that Yin Wuxiao is in trouble and ask him for help."
"Young Master Baili in Blue?" Yun'er blinked. "Is he the handsome young man in blue whom Yun'er kicked out last time?"
Yin Wuxiao sighed.
"Hurry up and go."
She never imagined she would find herself in such a desperate situation that she absolutely needed Baili Qingyi's help. She now truly understood what it meant to slap herself in the face.
When Baili Qingyi gave away the jade pendant, he didn't think Yin Wuxiao would ever need it. He assumed that after what happened last time, given her personality, she would never ask him for help even if a sharp blade was in front of her.
Unexpectedly, just two days later, someone came to the door with the jade pendant. He dared not be careless, knowing that she must be desperate, and hurriedly went to the Yin residence.
Along the way, he kept thinking that whatever difficulties she encountered, if he truly helped her, he feared...
He feared that she would owe him this favor and would try her best to repay it for the rest of her life, but she would never accept his feelings. Thinking of this, he felt uneasy again.
Alas, there are things in this world that make Baili Qingyi scratch his head and jump around in frustration, yet he still can't figure them out.